Moonlight Sonata
by Luna Stop Swearing
Summary: Full moons have long been connected to lunacy and much more. With a massive school event falling on the full moon, what effects could this have on the students and teachers? Will Kikuchi finally ask Kanzaki out? Will Onizuka ask Fuyutsuki to marry him?
1. Episode 1: Antescedent

Moonlight Sonata By Luna Stop Swearing  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except books and Beatles posters. If anything here's trademarked or copyrighted, you can be sure it's not mine.  
  
A/N: Well here I am again, after a looonngg hiatus! And look at that, my first GTO fic! ^__^ Enjoy!  
  
Episode 1: Antescedent  
  
Commotion was the order of the day at Seirin High School. Well at least, along the seniors ' wing. All the seniors were jostling and pushing each other just to catch a glimpse of an 8x11" piece of bond paper neatly tacked up with a blue pushpin in the center of the seniors' bulletin board. Class 3-4, having just come from PE, was alerted by Class 3-2 and 3-3 that there was a new announcement on the seniors' bulletin board. Class 3-1 had had chemistry at that time, but somehow, several well-meaning students from the three classes got a hold of the PA system and spread the word.  
  
Apparently it contained big news-everything posted on the bulletin board was considered big news, since things were posted there so rarely, and when something was posted, it was usually about a school outing or a fair or a class activity. Anything fun and school-related graced the seniors' bulletin board. Yoshikawa, in the middle of the hubbub, heard people saying it was about a TV station shooting an episode of the famous drama My Classy Girl at Seirin. Others said it was about the resignation of a teacher who had impregnated a freshman. And some even said that it was about a foiled terrorist plot at school. They, of course, hadn't read the announcement.  
  
Noboru Yoshikawa felt like he was drowning in a sea of sweat and scents and bodies, and tried to look for a familiar face to hang on to, a human buoy of sorts. None emerged. Only now, as he struggled to remain afloat in this sea, did he realize that he knew very few seniors outside of his classroom, despite the fact that he'd spent all three years of high school with them, and had been with some of them since junior high. Well actually, Yoshikawa knew quite a lot of people in his year, but less than half of them knew he existed, despite the fact that he was Anko Uehara's on-again-off-again boyfriend.  
  
He watched several guys from other classes trying to cop a feel on the more well endowed of their batchmates. Sanzo Hisashi, a notorious pervert from Class 3-2 (he was the perfect example of a playboy, being very handsome and very rich. It was one of his habits to collect the underwear of every girl he slept with, sort of like a fee, and rumor had it that he kept each pair in its own plastic Ziploc bag), had his fingers on the hem of Yuriko Takahashi's skirt (It was public knowledge that she was still a virgin and refused to be violated before marriage), and it was quite obvious what he was going to do next. After feeling thoroughly disgusted, he decided to play vigilante and yanked Yuriko's arm and pushed her against Haruko Akagi. A startled Sanzo, disappointed, moved on to new game, and Yuriko and Haruko were just puzzled. Yoshikawa did his best to blend in with the mob, yet to keep his head above the crowd (it was easier now, since he had grown quite a lot since junior high). Sometimes human nature sickened him.  
  
"Yoshikawa!"  
  
Looking for the source of the sound, he saw Kikuchi Yoshito waving at him. While wondering what Kikuchi was doing in the crowd (he, after all, hadn't changed, and still preferred shying away from crowded places and keeping to exactly four places at school: the classroom, the computer room, the rooftop, and Eikichi Onizuka's 'house') The bespectacled lad smirked and grabbed Yoshikawa by his collar, and soon both of them were on the floor, slightly bruised, but safe from the mob.  
  
"We're late for class," Kikuchi stated simply, then started walking towards the classroom. He was a brisk walker, as he did it as part of his exercise for karate, walking and running around Ichijoji Park on weekends and holidays when he didn't have an Internet connection.  
  
Yoshikawa, on the other hand, usually sat in front of his XBox and PS2 and just played games. Other times, he watched anime and read manga in his room. On those occasions that Anko grew sick and tired of his otaku ways and dragged him out of his room for some fresh air, they watched a movie or went to the Ichijoji Reservoir (one of their favorite haunts), talked, and awkwardly made out. He wasn't much of an athlete (okay, he sucked big time), and had some difficulty catching up to Kikuchi.  
  
"Ah, doumo, Kikuchi. Have you found out what all this fuss is about?" Yoshikawa inquired as he and Kikuchi walked back to their classroom. "Is it really about a filming here at school?"  
  
"It's not exactly important to me, so I discard the information as quickly as possible."  
  
"So you do know? What is it?"  
  
The genius pushed the nosepiece of his glasses higher. "Well, if you're that curious, it's a..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
What exactly is the 'big happening' at Seirin Private High School? How will it affect the lives of our favorite students and faculty? Has Uchiyamada bought a new Cresta yet? How many Crestas have been destroyed so far? Will you review my work? Stay tuned for the next episode of Moonlight Sonata!  
  
A/N: I'm sorry this is short, but don't worry, it'll get longer soon. I hoped you guys found it amusing. Review, please! 


	2. Episode 2: Andante

Moonlight Sonata

By Luna Stop Swearing/Lunatique

A/N: Thank you very much for reviewing! Replies to reviews (it's a habit of mine) at the bottom.

Disclaimers: See Chapter 1. 

Chapter 2: Andante

"Seniors' Prom!" Kunio Murai exclaimed to his friends with disbelief and confusion as they walked down the corridor to class. He hadn't changed much since the last time we saw him, back in junior high, except that he was taller now, and slightly less arrogant. Only slightly, though, but yes, miracles do happen. "Now what the hell is that?"

"Don't you know, Murai?" Tadaaki Kusano teased. His jump into adulthood was quite evident, since his voice was deeper than it had been over four years ago, and he had quite a plantation of hair on the top of his upper lip. It wasn't a full-blown mustache (not yet, anyway), but it was getting there. He was probably the only member of the original trio who now had what could be called an active social life, as he already had a girlfriend. 

"Kusano, if I knew, I wouldn't be asking that question now would I?"

"Isn't a prom one of those things you push a baby in?" Koji Fujiyoshi hadn't had his hair cut since he graduated from junior high, and just kept his hair in a ponytail. This act was inspired by Miyabi Aizawa's words during their junior high graduation, when she casually commented that he looked good with his hair long. His mother became a telemarketer, which brought in considerably more money than making buttons (although she still made them on the side, when she had time), and had married a middle-class owner and chef at a ramen store. To earn extra money, Fujiyoshi worked part-time there, which explained why he seldom attended any of the gimmicks of the Onikumi. 

"That's a carriage, Fujiyoshi!" Murai groaned irritably.

"No, no, prom is also another word for that," Fujiyoshi insisted.  "Didn't you remember what Tsukishiro-sensei read to us in class?"  He coughed haughtily, then began to recite aloud an excerpt of the short story that their English teacher had told them a few days ago. "As the nanny pushed the baby in the old prom…"

A loud sigh was heard from behind, and Urumi Kanzaki graced the stooges with her goddess-like presence. If anything had changed about her, it was that maybe she'd been a little nicer, to both fellow students and teachers, but it was impossible to ignore the edge she maintained over them. Yeah, the IQ thing. Part of the Onikumi (Onizuka's Gang- what the students decided to call themselves), she still hung around with the trio, Kikuchi, and Yoshikawa, usually on the rooftop or at Onizuka's place, sometimes, around town at various ramen stores. Physically, change wasn't exactly striking, but she'd grown some nice boobs at this point, which did not escape any of her friends' eyes. Not even Kikuchi's. "You're talking about a pram, Fujiyoshi. A prom is a fancy dress party for graduating seniors. This affair is more commonly practiced in the West, which makes me curious as to why they'd want us to have a prom."

Kikuchi's pace quickened so he could catch up with the genius girl. He couldn't explain something, which he hated. He disliked it when he couldn't explain things or couldn't understand things. Right now, he couldn't understand what he was feeling when he was around Urumi. He felt a strange kind of heat when there was contact between them, or they were just in each other's presence. It started at the back of his neck and crept up to his ears, which bothered him because it looked like he had beets on his ears. Sometimes it was so bad that he had to excuse himself from class and go to the washroom to cool off. He, being a genius, had an inkling of what it was, yet did not want to acknowledge it yet. It had to be explained. He shrugged it off as early symptoms of an exotic disease. He pulled Urumi back so Murai and the others could walk ahead of them. Her eyes fluttered open, questioning the action. "Nani, Kikuchi-kun?"

"For once in your life, Tensai Kanzaki Urumi, don't you think it would be wise to stop questioning and just have fun at the level of people our age?"

"The difficulty of us 'tensai' is that our questioning and skepticism is built-in, as is our knowledge that we are surrounded by..." She glanced around, gesturing towards the populace with her eyes. "…Idiots." Smiling brightly at Kikuchi, she skipped gaily to class.

Kikuchi was not stunned by her response, but followed her into the room of Class 3-4.

~*~*~*~*~*~

What will happen to Kikuchi and Kanzaki? Will Fujiyoshi get a life? Why hasn't Onizuka been mentioned yet? All this and more in the next installment of… _Moonlight Sonata!_

A/N: There you go, a little Kikuchi/Urumi action! (Which is why all of you read the fic, right?) Tensai, by the way, means 'genius.' This is in reference to Hanamichi Sakuragi, the main character of Slam Dunk, who always calls himself a 'tensai.' And can anyone guess what the chapter titles have in common? Anyway, review reactions (in the order of how I got them):

_Hunter Sopko_: Thanks for the positive feedback! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Ai… she'll just be a little _late_ to class, methinks, but she's here to mess with Kikuchi's mind and heart.

_Allence of the Weed AKA I'm So Damn Pretty and Smart_: Yes, you are so damn pretty and smart. That's fact. Now stop saying that. 

_Red-jewel, Kit-Kat, d!sLoCatEd, nascent, irugawa_tsubame, Scarlet, Reika, DarkFusion_: Hmm, having second thoughts about the Kikuchi/Urumi pairing. Just kidding! ^__^V Thanks for reviewing!

_Czari_: Yes, I know who you are. Now go get an account here like Ella did! ^__^ And start watching GTO, man! (girl!) You don't know what you're missing. 

_Aeris_: I'm glad you liked how Yoshikawa was portrayed. Yes, the Haruko Akagi in Chapter 1 _is_ the Haruko Akagi from Slam Dunk. ^-^;; I was running out of names for girls, and I didn't want a Sakura. At that time I was at a SD fansite and remembered Haruko. Watch out for references to other anime in the chapters to come. I think there will be a lot. I tried to make the Kikuchi/Kanzaki moment here less cheesy, but…I don't know. It looks wrong to me.  I may take it down, I may not. 

_tanya-crest_: Some facts are fanon, some are canon. Feel free to use the canon.

_Claudia_: They are seniors now. Onizuka still lives on the rooftop. This will be noted in the next chapter. ^_~

_Mari Kreuz_: Hindi, kasi project namin sa klase yung paggawa ng Noli play. Ako yung writer, hehe. Astig nga e, naging comedy bigla. 

Until next time, guys! 


	3. Episode 3: Vivace, Vivo, Vite

Moonlight Sonata 

By Luna Stop Swearing

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed all the past chapters of Moonlight Sonata! Most of your comments were on how short my chapters were... ^^;; I'm sorry about that! I thought chapters in bite-size pieces were more convenient for both the reader (and the writer ^__^V), but apparently not. I'll try to make them longer, but the catch is they might take a while, since I have periodical exams are coming up _next week_. You have been forewarned. Other ramblings located at the bottom. 

A/N2: Hats off to my muses, who made future chapters possible, and made me conquer bouts of indecision, _Allence of the Weed_ and _B(ogart)-chan!_ *Takes off hat*

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. 

~*~*~*~*~

Episode 3: Vivace, Vivo, Vite

Homeroom class wasn't exactly as enthralling as anyone hoped it would be, but at least with Fuyutsuki-sensei, she kept them awake. Smiling brightly as she entered the room with her attendance books and other teacher paraphernalia, she said, "Okay people, settle down. I suppose you all have heard the news of your prom."

"Fuyutsuki-sensei, what is a prom?"

Azusa Fuyutsuki, as well as all the homeroom teachers of the seniors, had gone through extensive training just to be able to get an idea as to what a 'prom' was. They themselves had not experienced such a thing in their youth. 'Extensive training' basically meant sleeping over at Onizuka's 'house' one Friday night with several stacks of American movies that catered to young teenage girls, and reading several American magazines like Seventeen that had the words 'PROM FEVER' on the cover in big, bright, bold letters. And she had to endure several hours of staring into a flashlight reciting prom do's and don'ts until Onizuka was satisfied.

"Well, a prom is a party where you all wear fancy gowns and suits. It's uncommon for Seirin to have such events, but the younger teachers suggested it to Commissioner Sakurai, who agreed. It's supposed to encourage relations among the batch. As you all know, it is to be held on the 24th of March, a week before graduation, in the school gym. That's a Friday, so we won't have any classes in the morning so you can prepare, and the prom itself will start at 6:30 in the evening..."

"That's two weeks from now, isn't it?" Chikako Shirai asked Saeko Iijima, who nodded in response.

Their seating arrangement hadn't arranged since junior high; when there were new students, they were just asked to sit in the back row so they wouldn't disturb the arrangement. Kikuchi Yoshito, in his usual place by the window, wasn't listening to Fuyutsuki-sensei explain other details of the prom. He pushed the bridge of his glasses higher up his nose. He, like so many other times in his life, was extremely bored. Bored out of his skull type of bored, the kind where you would shoot yourself just to be amused by the fountains of blood gushing out of your body.  

Nothing much could be said about Kikuchi, if change was concerned. Same 'ol, same 'ol. He still enjoyed smoking, online chatting, Photoshopping porn for Onizuka (he once tried teaching Onizuka how to do it himself but quickly gave up because Onizuka kept excusing himself to go jack off, sometimes not even making it to the bathroom), and generally being around computers. Not caring much for his appearance (as long as he didn't look like Frankenstein's monster, that was fine by him), he looked the same. 'Gel' was not in his vocabulary. Neither was 'contacts.' 

Prom was just a trivial matter in the way of graduation and his entrance into the 'real world.' He knew what a prom was, and the whole idea of it seemed so retarded to him. So a hundred or so teenagers come to the school gym wearing expensive, saucy gowns and stiff tuxedos, several million yen's worth of foreign perfume and aftershave, and a minimum of ten pounds of jewelry. Dinner, dancing. Many young people also lost their virginity towards the end of the affair, when they'd downed enough piña coladas the equivalent of half a bottle of vodka. _How bourgeois,_ he thought. 

_Clack._

Kikuchi recognized that as the all-too-familiar 'ballpen-falling-on-floor' sound, made by students who had reached the apex of boredom and indifference. He propped up his elbow on the table and rested his head on it, looking for the culprit. In a nanosecond, Urumi bent down and picked up the black G-Tec on the floor, sat back up, and resumed twirling it expertly with her fingers, as she always did when she found what was being discussed to be boring (which was most of the time). He watched on in fascination, as this seemed the lesser of both evils: it was either watching Kanzaki or counting the pimples on the back of Jun Morales' neck.  

"So will we be wearing kimonos, Fuyutsuki-sensei?" Fukuda Honda inquired.

"No, you will be wearing Western-style dresses. You will have your hair styled nicely and have makeup on. The boys will be wearing suits. It is also customary for boys to ask girls to the prom, and to buy them flowers and things to pin on their dresses. A DJ will take care of the music, and the food will be catered by the Tokyo Intercontinental. Honestly, I haven't been to one of those things. Onizuka-sensei just made us watch a lot of American teen movies with proms in them, like 10 Things I Hate About You, and we took notes. Any other questions?" 

As there were none, she removed the rubber band off of a pile of thick pamphlets. The top half was colored baby pink, the bottom half was navy blue. She separated the two colors, holding the baby pink set of pamphlets in one hand, and the navy blue set in the other. "President? Vice President? Can you distribute these, please? Navy blue for boys, pink for girls."

Urumi, being the class president, stood up, rather languidly, as if savoring the feel of the desk. It could be likened to a sleep-deprived person being awaken at 5:00 A.M. Kikuchi, being the vice-president, also rose and walked over to Ms. Fuyutsuki's desk to get the navy blue pamphlets. They both distributed the pamphlets as energetically-less as possible, like walking mush. When they were done with the distributions, they each took a pamphlet, gave the extras to Ms. Fuyutsuki, and sat back down.

"Okay, people, these pamphlets are prom guides, for both boys and girls, and will give you insights on what to do during a prom…"

People were no longer paying attention to her, but were excitedly yammering amongst themselves as to whom they would take to the prom, and scanning the pamphlets.  The boys had separated themselves from the girls, the boys occupying the north portion of the classroom and the girls the south. The boys mainly talked about who they were planning to ask (with backups in case they said no), while the girls discussed what they were going to wear and who they would like to ask them to the prom. 

"And it begins," Azusa Fuyutsuki smiled wearily. Noticeable about her now was her hair, now long and tied in a neat ponytail. And her cheeks were rosier. One could say she was 'blooming.' Maybe it was because of Onizuka-sensei. Sadly, this new aura about her hadn't done anything for her chest. Onizuka didn't seem to mind, though. 

Glancing around the room, she saw exactly 5 people not participating in any of the huddling and whispering and giggling. She wasn't exactly surprised to see them in their own little worlds. Gunji Mishima, Haruo Tokida, Mokuba Shirai, the Gundam Otaku, were bitching about how much of a sellout Gundam Wing was, while Urumi and Kikuchi merely stood by the open window and gazed at the scenery. It was nothing much, actually, just the view of the school quadrangle where they usually had their P.E. classes when they did sprinting, laps, or hurdles. They saw Fukuroda in his red jogging pants (rumor was that he never washed them) and gray exercise shirt. He was yelling at a bunch of freshman girls to hurry up with their laps, whilst slapping their asses gleefully. When he thought no one was looking, he sniffed his hand and rubbed it on his face. 

If passivity were an Olympic event, Urumi could have represented Japan. Kikuchi could be her coach. Or vice versa. She just stared at Fukuroda, inwardly feeling sorry for the girls who had to go through the ordeal. She never had to take a single day of P.E., thankfully. All she had to do was pretend she had cramps and go to the nurse's office. Naoko Moritaka, the school nurse, knew that she was faking, and knew the reason why Urumi avoided P.E., and sympathized with her. Fukuroda had harassed her before, too.

"Are you going, Kikuchi-kun?" She tore off a page from her pamphlet and skillfully made a paper airplane. Then, taking a sharp pin from the hem of her skirt, she attached it to the tip of the airplane and threw the plane at Fukuroda. It hit his butt. He howled, and looked around for the perpetrator. Kanzaki waved, smiling brightly. Kikuchi merely looked on in approval.

"KISAMA, URUMI KANZAKI!!!!!!!!!" Swearing was as far as any teacher would go with her. After venting, Fukuroda then ran towards the direction of the clinic.

"I don't think I'd have the capability to enjoy it. And you?"

"I don't know yet. Probably the same reason as you, but as you said, I must try to enjoy things at the level of our peers."

Azusa saw them talking and wistfully thought what a cute couple the two geniuses made, and wished they would get together sometime. _Maybe in time for the prom..._ Then she quickly remembered the other details she had to iron out before she dismissed them for lunch. "Minna-san?" Fuyutsuki-sensei called out tentatively. "Minna-san?" Realizing this was going nowhere, she banged her shoe on the table (a trick Onizuka had taught her a long time ago) and yelled out, "OI!!!"

This captured everyone's attention and the students rushed back to their seats.

"Thank you. Before I dismiss you for lunch, I would like to say that attendance is compulsory. Your participation in the prom counts as your project grades in homeroom, social studies, and PE…"

Collective groans erupted throughout the room. 

Fuyutsuki-sensei smiled sympathetically. "Come on guys, it's not _that_ bad. Oh yes, and two committees are being formed to take charge of certain aspects of the prom. There's the decorations committee and the main prom committee. The main prom committee will take charge of the theme for the prom, and certain trivial details. If anyone wants to volunteer for any of the committees, just raise your hand…"

Silence. They just blinked at her.

"O-kay…I'm sorry guys, but then I'll just pick out people-" More groans from the assembly. "Gunji, Haruo, Mokuba, Yoshikawa, Mayu, Anko, Tomoko, Megumi, Chikako, Saeko, main prom committee. Kikuchi, Urumi, Murai, Kusano, Miyabi, Fujiyoshi, Mayako, Naoko, decorations committee." While each person was being called, he or she showed some sign of pure displeasure at being chosen. Fuyutsuki-sensei didn't like forcing people to do what they didn't like, but that was what the faculty had agreed on. What Onizuka-sensei had forced them to agree on, anyway. "Please coordinate with the committee members of the other sections after lunch in the library until 2:30, after which you are supposed to return to your classrooms for the rest of your classes. That is all, you may now have your lunch."

The chosen students mumbled about how unfair life was and narrated to thin air (or to some very unlucky spectators) all the things they could be doing aside from planning a prom for a hundred-shy ingrates they called batchmates. The Gundam Otaku, however, tried to be optimistic, especially when Haruo voiced his idea. 

"Maybe we can have a cosplay prom!"

"Yeah! I can go as Heero Yuy!"

"Baka, you're too fat to be Heero!"

"Not to mention ugly!"

"You can be-"

Miyabi Aizawa rolled her eyes as she, Mayako, and Naoko passed by them. Miyabi had dyed her hair back to its original color, after having to endure endless months of being called Rei Ayanami by Onizuka. She was a much friendlier person now, as she no longer lived with either of her parents, but with an independent elder cousin whom she liked.  "If we're going to have a prom, it has to be fancy dress. I refuse to attend a prom that forces me to dress up like a silly anime character!"

"Kanzaki? You're shaking," Kikuchi pointed out. He was standing by her desk, his bento in his hand, the other one balancing him as he leaned against Hikaru Midorikawa's table. Every day, they had the same, unspoken ritual: Every lunch period, he would get his bento and wait for her to get hers. Together, they would meet up with Murai and the rest of the gang on the roof. 

Urumi had overheard this too (since silence was not a virtue of the Gundam Otaku), and had the same feeling she had, three years ago, back in Okinawa, when she was forced to share a room with the three of _them_. Her eyes widened until they resembled those of a madwoman. She roughly shook Kikuchi's shoulders. "If they're going to have a cosplay prom, they're going to call me 'Sara-chan' again! I can't take any more Gundam, Kikuchi-kun! Three straight days of Gundam three years ago is enough Gundam for the rest of your life!"

After the trip to Okinawa several years ago, Urumi had told him about her ordeal with the three freaks who kept calling her 'Sara,' who apparently was a character from a Gundam series (Kikuchi himself had never been a fan, but he knew for sure that Yoshikawa was, and Onizuka may have been). She went on and on about how they kept talking and playing games, and how she couldn't understand a single word being exchanged, and how they kept calling her 'Sara.' That was enough to drive her to her wits' end. It didn't help much that in her last year at Seirin, they became classmates.  

Apparently only driving motorcycles off of unfinished suspension bridges and anything Gundam were the only things guaranteed to rile Kanzaki's nerves.  She grabbed her bento from her bag and ran to the rooftop before the Gundam Otaku or Kikuchi could say anything.

~*~*~*~*~

_Will Seirin Private High School Batch 2004 have a cosplay prom? Where the hell is Onizuka-sensei? Will he be in the next chapter? Who the heck is 'Sara' and from what Gundam series is she from? Can someone please tell me? Is this long enough for you? All this and more in the next episode of…_Moonlight Sonata! _Stay tuned!_

A/N: Attention, readers! The rating for _Moonlight Sonata_ might go up. Things will happen to our favorite characters. Some deliciously evil, evil things that are not rated PG13. If you don't see this fic next week when you go to the GTO section (target update date: March 21), don't despair, I haven't taken it down. Just check the R section. I apologize to the younger readers who have filtering software and things like that, but these things must happen. 'Tis the law of the fanfic writer. ^__^V 

What else… ah yes! We will have fanart! ***Cackles* **Yes, I have commissioned Allence of the Weed to do several drawings of Kikuchi/Kanzaki. I'll post the links soon, when she gets them done and I figure out how to use the G-D'ed scanner. Lastly, yay! I've learned how to put stuff in bold and italics in my fics! I also apologize to Sir Isaac Newton. 

Right… ***cracks knuckles* **Let's get started on them reviews:

_Angel-wing2_: Yeah, I'll try to make my chapters longer! I'll try to upload at least 1000+ words with every chapter, how's that? And yep, Kikuchi/Urumi: Ultimate Power Couple, The L337. 'Nuff said.

_Allence of the Weed_: Em… _what_ bad habits? There are so many that I cannot decipher the idiosyncrasies that are making us experience this quagmire! [/private joke]

_Elle30_: Yes, be among one of the millions amazed… a Kikuchi/Kanzaki fanfic, finally! ^_~

_Mari Kreuz_: _Nasaan na si Onizuka?_ _Si Onizuka ay…_ nasa likod mo! _Nyek, corny. Putsa, hindi ko nga alam kung anong kagaguhan 'yung mangyayari… prom!_ _Santissima, prom!_ _Mi ako nga, walang alam 'diyan!_ _Nagbabasa na nga ako ng_ Candy _eh,_ research. Oh yeah, do you have a blog? I think I stumbled upon it while doing research for Moonlight Sonata. If you do, is the theme pink? And does it have the lyrics to Sugar Rush by A*Teens? 

_Scarlet_: What's more, they censor the stuff on the weekdays. I'm not sure about episodes on the weekends. I stopped watching after my friend told me that they started chopping it up. Sadly, I'll be somewhat preoccupied, exams coming up and all. But I'll update more frequently during the summer.

_Aeris_: Glad you thought the Kikuchi/Kanzaki moment in the last chapter wasn't cheesy. The first draft of that chapter seemed so wrong, so I rewrote the whole scene. 

_Riyuji.Raicho_: Wow, a new name here! Sugoi! ^__^V Is 'nice and slow' meant in a negative or sarcastic way? Just wondering. Thank you for your interest! 

_Ayce Shade_: Yeah, everyone seems to be complaining about the shortness of my chapters…They are 17 right now, which means that this fic is set three years later. 

_Tanya-crest_: Thanks, everybody's been saying that about my chapters… hope this one was long enough for everyone! And as for the feel of the original series… well, **sigh** I tried. 

_Cryxxy-Chan_: Yay! Someone figured it out! It's sort of an experimental thing for me. I've used that theme in two fanfics already (the first being a Love Hina one and martial arts-themed). In music, you describe the pace or rhythm of the music. I just used the terms to describe the flow of the story-whether it's fast, slow, or what. It's to your advantage if you know what the term means.

_Kairi21: _Sure, I'll check out your fics… but I don't know what Threads of Fate is, neither do I play Ragnarok Online… hehe, sorry, _pare._ About the Yoshikawa/Anko fic… I'll definitely try something of the sort. Not _now_, since Moonlight Sonata's already taking a long time to tweak, but probably after I finish it. I'll see what my muses and I can come up with. If you're craving for some Y/A action, check out _Embrace_ by Anko-Yoshikawa for the meantime. Seems to be the only Y/A fic so far on FF.Net. _Pinoy din yung sumulat 'nun_. 

Oh, and if anyone wants a transcript of all the Filipino being exchanged here (I tend to leak out plot lines in Filipino, nasty habit), just say so and I'll put translations in the next chapter. Ja! 


	4. Episode 4: Non Troppo

Moonlight Sonata 

By Luna Stop Swearing

A/N: Wow… still overwhelmed by the reviews… doumo, minna-san! And look at that, I didn't raise the rating… ***smirks*** Not yet, anyway… 

Warnings: Sexual language. I hope that all of you are old/mature enough to read this (nah, all of you are jaded –I hope- anyway, ne?). There will be more stuff like this in upcoming chapters, I hope I don't traumatize anyone, because my conscience can't take that. Look at that, I'm rambling. 

Disclaimers: Standard disclaimers apply. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Episode 4: Non Troppo

When Kikuchi and Urumi reached Onizuka's room, they first noted that they were the last of the Onikumi to arrive. Nothing unusual, of course. Yoshikawa was on his hands and knees, looking for the games Onizuka had borrowed from him in junior high but had yet to return. Kusano and Fujiyoshi were browsing through old issues of Shonen Jump. Kunio tried to avoid looking at the TV screen, but his primal instincts got the better of him. 

The next thing that Kikuchi and Urumi noticed was that their beloved sensei was watching a new porn flick, which they gathered from the way Kunio was acting towards the TV. Well, actually, they had come to a point where they could no longer differentiate new porn that Onizuka had borrowed or bought from previous ones, so they weren't sure if their teacher was in fact watching a new flick or just recycling something in his vast collection. Kusano picked up the case of the DVD, and handed it over to Kikuchi and Urumi for comment. The DVD proudly screamed "Dirty Prom Queens: XXXCited and XXXtreme," with grainy pictures of a very attractive American blonde massaging her melon-like breasts and her nether regions, and then another one of her giving a man fellatio. The DVD cover said that her name was Jenna Jameson. Kikuchi merely blinked, and quickly handed it back to Kusano.

Eikichi Onizuka's bachelor pad was littered with porno mags, takeout containers, beer cans, cigarette butts, video games borrowed (and not yet returned) from Yoshikawa, and manga. Posters of Due le Quartz, Porno Graffiti, L'arc~en~ciel, X Japan, and Morning Musume could be seen covering the holes in the walls that he was too lazy to board up properly. Kusano noticed that he was reading the latest tankoubon of _Musume Monogatari_ and volume 10 of _Mars_, simultaneously. They were located on the all-purpose coffee table which Onizuka used as a dining table, a gambling table, a cabinet, and a foot stool. If he left tankoubon there, that meant that he was reading it. Otherwise, it went into a box under the coffee table labeled 'MANGA' in bad kanji. 

"I'm guessing that you're responsible for our having a senior prom?" Murai asked as he sat down beside his teacher and watched a Western girl in a fancy American gown being screwed by what appeared to be a high school boy who must have abused steroids. They appeared to be doing this in a bathroom, with many other steroid-abusing high school boys watching with perverted pleasure. The girl just kept moaning and screaming for more until the guy reached his peak. The faint chords of what appeared to be 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA wafted into the bathroom. Urumi automatically clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress a giggle. She didn't know why, exactly, but it just seemed funny, sex and ABBA. It was like William Hung and American Idol...not that she bothered to watch that filth. These past few weeks, she found out that there were things that were beyond her power to explain. This, of course, bothered her a lot, because she, like Kikuchi, wanted to believe that there were scientific explanations for everything. She seemed to have trouble with where thought ended and feeling began. It hadn't been a problem for her before, but now she realized that she couldn't always run away from her emotions. But of course she wouldn't admit this to anyone- that was a sign of weakness, and that was one thing that she understood perfectly well. 

"I can't believe the inspiration for this prom thing was a porn flick."

This was normal for the Onikumi, watching porn. The Onikumi understood that porn was a required portion of Onizuka-sensei's day, and they could do nothing to tear him away from it until after he'd had his fill. Now it was nothing weird, just like reading a book or watching TV, a hobby on the side. One could ask, oh so casually, "What were you doing yesterday?" And they would reply, as if telling you the time or answering a math problem, "Oh, watching porn." The initial reaction of the person they were talking to (especially if it was an older person) was shock. The next question would most likely be, "Why?" The most likely answer would be, "Ii ja nai?"

Before, back in junior high, everyone would still be in awe at the size of a guy's dick or a woman's breasts (even Urumi joined in the ooh-ing and the aah-ing and the chorus of "That can't be real!"). Yoshikawa would get constant nosebleeds (and would also get laughed at by Onizuka) and Kikuchi, out of respect for the women, would look away, but now, as high school seniors, everything seemed normal to them. They stared at the TV screen like they were watching the news, MTV Japan, _Hello! Morning_ or something normal at least. And Kikuchi didn't bother turning away anymore. Before, there was still a thrill to watching porn, mostly because it felt so dirty and illegal. Now, after watching so much  it was just dirty, degrading, and boring. They couldn't understand how Onizuka didn't get tired of it all, and he'd been watching them since even before he was of legal age. 

"Wouldn't that be fun? Going to a prom, having that happen…" Onizuka commented, his eyes not moving from the flickering TV screen, but his mind creating a pretty little scene in his head. He was the hormonally-fueled high school boy driving frenetically into the pretty high school girl, who only wanted more. In the little movie in his mind, Azusa Fuyutsuki played the role of the pretty high school girl. 

Eikichi Onizuka, no longer single (when he filled out application forms or surveys, his status was '_taken_' or '_not available_', sometimes 'NA' when he was too lazy to write out _'Not Available'_), and now 25 years old, still looked the same as he did three years ago. Right now, he was wearing a baggy L'arc~en~ciel shirt, and the latest craze in Japan (around 5 years ago), something called _puruntongs_, pants that were too short to be called pants, but too long to be called shorts. He was barefoot, of course, and smoking as he talked. 

Urumi whacked him on the back of the head with the DVD case. "Baka! And you don't understand why you're still not married, do you?"

Onizuka was still touchy about the first and only time that he tried to propose to Fuyutsuki over a year ago, something involving fireworks, a carnapping, cows, karaoke, several thousand yen, geishas, Evangelion reruns, and the Onikumi, of course. The plan had backfired, but Fuyutsuki had just laughed it off. He never did get to pop the question, of course, and made his girlfriend believe that everything was just an elaborate joke meant to make her smile. Afterwards though, he decided to forget that it ever happened. He returned the ring to the jeweler the very next day, and used the money he got back to eat _toro_­ and _ramen_ with the Onikumi. Of course, the Onikumi would never let him forget the happenings of that day, and would constantly squeeze it into conversations they had. 

He pushed Urumi's hand away, letting the action slide. "Shhh…" No one could talk to him properly while he was watching porn, but that didn't stop the Onikumi from bombarding him with personal questions. 

"How long have you been dating?" 

"Is the sex good?"

"Why don't you want to propose again, sensei? Maybe this time it'll go well. I promise that I'll get the _proper_ car next time."

"Sensei, did you borrow my copy of _Demonic Geisha 3_?"

"Maybe he's lost his guts."

"I don't think it's a matter of guts, since Onizuka-sensei's got too much of that for his own good, but a matter of commitment," Urumi suggested, then rolled her eyes. "Men and commitment issues."

"Can you all just shut up until this is over?" Onizuka grumbled. "I'm trying to enjoy my movie here!"

"Movie?" Kunio frowned. "That's just porn!"

"It's a porn _movie_. Now scram."

"Touchy, touchy," Urumi scolded him.

The sensei leaned against the coffee table, threw his head back, and blew a large smoke ring over his head, then cracked his knuckles as he enjoyed his smutty flick. The Onikumi raised their eyebrows at one another as one by one they picked up their bento stacked against a corner of the wall, and left the storage room that had been his living quarters for the past four years now. They lounged on the rooftop, eating their lunch, waiting for Onizuka-sensei to finish his flick and come out.

~*~*~*~*~

_When will Uchiyamada-sensei make an appearance? What do the Onikumi have up their sleeves? Where is this all going? When will I put more K/K moments? All this and more in the next installment of…_ Moonlight Sonata! _Until the next episode!_

_Onikumi_: This is a rough translation, but it technically means 'Onizuka's gang,' or something like that. You get the picture. 

_Ii ja nai_: If I'm correct, this means, "Why not?", with the same nuance as "What the hell?"  

~*~*~*~*~

A/N: That was a hard chapter. I'm sorry for it being short, too. I have no idea how Onizuka should act. Especially when watching porn. I'm actually quite dissatisfied with it, and may take it down in a while for rewriting. But now you know that he's Fuyutsuki-sensei's boyfriend now, and that there's been one failed marriage proposal. Yes, I believe there will be more. ^^;; Anyway, now that my 'guess-what-the-chapter-titles-have-in-common' game is now over, I give my readers another challenge: 'Find all the cultural references embedded in Moonlight Sonata.' Two have been found already, but there are more. 

Right, let's do the review thing once again (Just skip if you don't want to be bored):

_Allence of the Weed_: I'll try to make my updates longer in the future, as promised. I also write according to my mood, and whether I fare well with my muses (of which you are one ^^), so if I'm particularly euphoric, I'll do a 2,000 worder. 

_GreatLight432_: Whew, glad you thought I captured the spirit of GTO, and the personalities of the L337 couple. Thank you for understanding my predicament. Yeah, I've been writing fics for a while, and I know there's no money involved, but it's just so fun to do!

_Cryxxy-Chan_: Thanks! Everyone seems to be clamoring for some Y/A action… Don't worry, I'll try to sneak some in. If not in the next chapter, then the one after that. All our favorite characters, not just K/K, will get their own little side stories here, if everything goes according to plan.

_Kairi21_: When I did my research about the Japanese school system, I was also confused. Well, it's like this (correct me if I'm wrong): They have 12 years of school, all in all, same as the American school system. Except in Japan they have two years of junior high, then three years of high school. And _kami nga, wala nga kaming_ prom, turnover _lang_. '_Steg kasi_ school _namin. _Sorry, I don't have a PS, my sisters destroyed it a long time ago. Now on to your question. 

**What Is A Muse?**: In Greek mythology, there were nine Muses, daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne. They all had stuff they were good at. Calliope was good at epic poetry, Clio had history, historical and heroic poetry under her belt, Erato had lyric poetry about love and eroticism, Euterpe was in charge of lyric poetry and flute playing, Polyhymnia was all about songs for the gods or sacred hymns, Melpomene had the tragedy thing going on, Terpsichore was all about dance and choral singing, Thalia (yes, she's also a goddess, not just some Latina _telenovela_ star) was the comedian, and Urania had her astronomy. A muse, **fanfiction-wise**, is merely inspiration personified. Someone or something that inspires you to write, or gives you ideas. I have three principal muses so far…

_tanya-crest_: Yes, I plan on bringing K/K together, then tearing them apart, then bringing them back together… it's a complicated cycle. I hope you stick around to see what unfolds.

_disL0Cated_: Nice observations there, brain and brain, bully and loser. I myself am not sure how I'm going to write an Onizuka/Fuyutsuki properly. Thank you for reviewing!

_Riyuji.Raicho_: First of all, I must say that I'm impressed that you went through all the trouble of reading my bio and tracking me down. ^__^ Yeah, I know that the first time they ran it, it was uncut. I'm glad I watched it then. I'm just waiting for the Tomoko arc to start, since that's my favorite… or has it started already? And yes, I've noticed that the majority of the GTO writers/reviewers seem to be Filipino. Not that that's a bad thing, of course.

_Angel-wing2_: Me? Lit. Major? ***laughter can be heard in the background*** Um… no? (Doesn't know how to react to that) My dad says there's no money there. I'll probably take up Journalism or International Studies. (I'm not even in college yet!) Thanks for the positive feedback, though.  

_Elle30_: Hehe, good for your sister! Well, I won't say the actual name of the school (bad publicity), but I will give out a few hints, see if they match your school. (1) Instead of Junior Proms during 3rd year, we have a turnover in school. (2) It's an all-girls' school (if you're in a co-ed one, then…). (3) It's located near UP Diliman. (4) The school name contains the word _'School.'_ (5) Our school fair is in December.  If these match then… wow. Contact me immediately. 

_C_: Thanks, C! Now I know which Gundam series it's from! Yes, readers, it's _Sayla_, not _Sara_. My apologies to all, as I kept hearing and seeing 'Sara' in the subs. ^__^;; I now feel awful for having misled anyone. Anyway, I did a little research on Sayla. ***Clears throat*** Sayla Mass is from the series Mobile Suit Gundam. She's 17 years old, from the Earth Federation, is the communications officer on the bridge of White Base, and pilots the G-Fighter.  She only _sort of_ looks like Urumi. But then again, I've only seen two pictures.

_arukas_: Thanks, I'll try to work on Fuyutsuki's language and attitude better. It's just that I thought that maybe three years of teaching might have taught her to be tougher. Especially since she's around Onizuka.

_Scarlet_: They don't show him smoking in the anime, but he does in the manga. I guess it's possible, though the occurrence of it here is not as dramatic as that in the West. _(Paano napunta yung usapan sa ganun dito sa Pilipinas?)_I haven't been to _any_ kind of prom, ya know. I must be at least 10x more clueless, but I do have an inkling of what goes on. ^^;;

_Mari Kreuz_: Yeah, Fuyutsuki-sensei! Huzzah! Nice blog, by the way. _Ate Yumi_ doesn't sound bad. :P _Yumi-nee-san!_ ^__^

_Strife-Ishitaka, Shadow ScytheX, Tonie Grace_: Always a pleasure to have more people on the Kikuchi/Urumi ship! Glad you guys like the story so far. I can't believe you found me, Tonie!

_Haro_: Thanks for the additional information (although I did do research on Sayla Mass when C submitted a review) on the other Sarahs. I've only seen Gundam Wing, so I wouldn't know. ^^;; Demo… when you say Urumi Kanzaki, my mind has this image of Dorothy Catalonia. Without the freakish eyebrows of course. While we're on the topic, has anyone noticed the resemblance between Kikuchi and Kiminobu Kogure from Slam Dunk? My lovely muse Allence was the first to point it out to me. 

**Well, that's all of them. Until the next episode! (Again!)**


	5. Episode 5: Scherzo

Moonlight Sonata

By Luna Stop Swearing

A/N: Thank you for putting up with me so far, minna-san! Sentences in bold are the character's conscience communicating with him/her. Italicized sentences are the character responding to his/her conscience. (Did that make sense?)

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. The song used in the beginning of the chapter, These Living Arms, is off the Canadian band The Tea Party's album _Triptych_. Beautiful. 

~*~*~*~

Episode 5: Scherzo

_"But ain't it funny how the Fates work?_

_I feel cheated by the turn_

_Still this love it hovers over us_

_And the lessons that we've learned_

_Patience my love, it will be alright_"

**---These Living Arms, The Tea Party**

Even though Tokyo was infamous for its noontime heat wave, today seemed to be itching to break a world record for hottest day recorded. It didn't help that Commissioner Sakurai had just announced that the school's centralized air-conditioning was on the fritz, but there was no need to worry, she said, since a technician had been contacted, and would be around shortly after lunch.  Everyone had taken off at least two articles of clothing and were looking for ways to cool off. Urumi had undone her tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and had taken off her shoes and socks, and was fanning herself with a makeshift paper fan made out of a centerfold she found lying around. Kikuchi had completely unbuttoned his polo shirt and was now leaning against the wall nearest the door, his eyes closed, trying to get shade from the shadow of the door. Yoshikawa and the rest of the boys followed suit, and soon all of their shoes were arranged in a neat line by the door, their socks stuffed in them. Kikuchi still had a cold can of Poccari Sweat, and they passed it around, placing it on their foreheads and necks and sighing with relief.  

The guys were looking at Urumi, hoping it'd get hotter so she'd be left with nothing but her bra. After a while it really did hotter, and Urumi did unbutton her blouse some more, only to reveal that she was wearing a thin white T-shirt underneath (which read _Screw Hikaru_ in blood red lettering), unlike most of the girls who usually wore those lacy, flowery bras, sometimes with matching underwear. The male contingent of the Onikumi was disappointed and was not afraid to show it. Kikuchi tried to remain passive, and ended up banged the top of his head against the wall. His demons were acting up again.

She smirked as she removed the buttons until she wore her blouse the same way the guys wore their polo shirts. "Very sorry, gentlemen. No strip tease today. I don't do that for free. Maybe next time, when you have more than 5,000 yen amongst yourselves?"

"Tease!" Kunio growled.

She laughed, and Kikuchi just closed his eyes again and stared into the black, his mind rewinding to a certain place at a certain time. The mental movie began, and he could see himself sitting by the swimming pool with Urumi during junior high. They had been laughing at Onizuka's antics (he, Kunio, Fujiyoshi, and Kusano jumped into the pool from a high beam), and Kikuchi had casually told her that she looked much better when she smiled. _Gah, what's wrong with me?_ He groaned inwardly, staring at her exchange friendly banter with Kunio and the others.

**Exactly, what's the friggin' matter with you, Yoshito? She's been your best friend…okay, good friend, since…forever! Will you throw that all away for the sake of your hormones? Just go jack off or something! Just don't act on what you feel!**  Before his ranting conscience could get the best of him, though, something (thankfully) interrupted it.

"I _still_ cannot believe you got the idea of having a high school prom out of a porn movie," Kusano said in disbelief after Onizuka came out, stretching, yawning, and scratching his armpits, completely satisfied with his pornographic movie moment.

Onizuka-sensei shrugged and lit his fourth lunch cigarette (but his tenth for the day). "If it happens, it happens. And besides, I thought you kids liked these things. Asking your special someone out, getting dressed up, dancing, making out…romance! And has anyone realized that it's incredibly hot today? Feels like Morocco and not Tokyo!"

"Will you _quit_ changing the subject?" Kunio grumbled.

"Well, it's not fun for me," Urumi mumbled. "I'd rather stay home and crunch numbers for _okaa-san_. Or even finish my thesis on the Philippine economy!"

"Maybe I didn't make your asshole wide enough*," Onizuka mused, eying the rear of her skirt with amusement. 

Urumi was used to this, at least, around Onizuka and the Onikumi. She didn't mind it if they looked at her that way or made lewd jokes. She knew that they didn't mean anything wrong.  They were just looking at her because they were men, because they had eyes. No shame in being human. She stuck her tongue out at him and turned around. Onizuka seemed disappointed, but shrugged it off. He'd had enough for the day, anyway. 

"Isn't this all too time-consuming? I mean, I could work on my website more, or practice karate."

"The Prince of Ichijoji Gaming…has nothing to say concerning the matter." 

"Well thank you all for being very optimistic about this! Why don't you all look on the bright side of things?" Onizuka winked knowingly. "It's all to your benefit, you know. You may not realize it now, but…"

"And how exactly is it 'to our benefit?' " Fujiyoshi demanded.

Onizuka only smiled that devil's-advocate smile of his that spoke volumes of mischief and of good times to come. "You'll see." He tilted his head back and blew a massive cloud of smoke above it. "So, who are you all planning to take to the prom? I won't tell. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my penis until it bleeds me dry…"

"That's why prom is going to be miserable for us," Kunio piped up. "We have no one to take…"

"Eh? That's a stupid excuse. There are 163 students in your batch. 78 of those are girls.  It's all up to you to decide if you have the balls to ask someone out. Say, Kusano, what happened to that girl… the one whose urine sample you stole? Ai Tokiwa?" 

Kusano blushed and looked away. He didn't want to be reminded of the first girl to ever smash his heart into a thousand pieces, eat the pieces, then regurgitate them. "She moved away after junior high, sensei. She's currently studying somewhere in the Kanagawa Prefecture, last I heard."

Kikuchi's ears also perked up at the mention of the girl's name. No matter how hard he tried to erase that memory, he simply could not forget the first girl that he had ever kissed (no thanks to Onizuka). And to ignore the attraction he felt towards her was easier said than done. Contrary to popular belief, Kikuchi was not a rock. He was only human, and still had the capacity to fall in love, or at least, feel love, although he chose not to act on it, because he felt that love just complicated things. The only time he had come close to breaking was shortly before junior high graduation, when he told himself that he really loved Ai Tokiwa. Before he could tell her this to her face, she moved to the Kanagawa Prefecture. Of course he had berated himself for missing such an opportunity, and went back to his original outlook on love. When he had stopped meditating on that, he realized that he had missed a lot of Onizuka's award-winning 'how-to-get-a-date' speech.  

"Heh, that's the easiest part! Have a little faith in yourselves! Look at Yoshikawa. He was five centimeters shorter than Anko, but he scored! And he didn't even have twice the body strength you guys did! But look at him now!" Onizuka whacked him hard on the back and displayed him proudly, as if Yoshikawa was a prize pig that he had bred, raised, and trained (which was partially true). Needless to say, Yoshikawa didn't appreciate the sentiment much and merely frowned. Onizuka jabbed him in the ribs, rather painfully, and asked loudly, "How far have you two gone, huh? Have you been to first and a half base yet?"

Almost every day (or just whenever he felt like it), Onizuka would ask him the same question. And Yoshikawa's response was always the same-he would redden, turn away, and say, "SENSEI!" in a shocked, embarrassed, and annoyed tone. And Onizuka would always laugh, accompanied by a hearty slap on the back and words of encouragement to just go ahead to first and a half base, an Onizuka-ism which meant 'under the shirt and over the bra.' Shortly after the encouraging, Onizuka would always remind Yoshikawa to always 'bring protection,' which, in the case of first and a half base, was oven mitts. 

"Oi! Seriously! Isn't _anyone_ going to bother attending this thing? I planned it, after all." Onizuka made his Droopy face, which made everyone roll their eyes instead of eliciting compassion. 

"We have a 'prom committee' meeting after lunch, whatever the hell that is," Fujiyoshi smirked. 

"Oi, oi, you guys should suggest having a cosplay prom," Onizuka nodded. "That way, you don't have to dress up fancy, just come dressed as your favorite anime character. I can be Squall, no, wait… I'll be Doraemon!" He gave Murai, Kusano, and Fujiyoshi a thumbs-up, which meant that he had not forgotten the ordeal that they had put him through with the bowling balls. 

Murai cringed as he remembered the jump off of Ichijoji Bridge and being hung from a tree while being punched by several goons, and flashed a finger in Onizuka's general direction in response. Their teacher laughed and returned the gesture. Kikuchi and Urumi shared a Look, reserved for just the two of them, exchanged only when they felt the dumbening down of people around them. 

_Sometimes it's just so hard being a genius_, Urumi thought, leaning against the wall beside Kikuchi, using the now lukewarm softdrink can to massage her temples. _You are ostracized by your peers for being different…they think you're an emotionless calculating machine or a living encyclopedia...or just a miracle of science. Which is true, for the most part.  As if it isn't enough that I'm the daughter of a dead Russian-American uber-genius. _ _It's nice to have someone like you who understands how you feel, who makes you feel normal, grounded…**_

"Kusano?"

"What?"

"Don't eat me."

That simple statement made everyone stop bitching about how hot it was and made them focus on the boy lying face-down on the floor. Kusano stopped what he was doing, which was nothing, so it was relatively easy to stop, and stared at Fujiyoshi for a good few nanoseconds before responding. "What did you say, Fujiyoshi?" 

"Don't eat me."

Kusano frowned. _What's with Fujiyoshi? _ "Why shouldn't I eat you?"

Onizuka, who was now on his sixth lunch cigarette, cocked an eyebrow and immediately became concerned. "Ne, Fujiyoshi, you high or something? I told you not to smoke the leftovers last week!" 

"Sensei, that was flour-"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD, KANZAKI!" Onizuka had bought some experimental drugs from Toshiyuki, his cop friend, over a week ago. There had been a pot session over the weekend at his 'pad,' and the Onikumi had been invited. Urumi bent down and stuck her finger in the open plastic bag and saucily sucked on it. Afterwards, she announced that it was flour. Onizuka wouldn't believe it though, and, to prove her wrong, smoked it. Flour or not, he got high, and Kunio, Kusano, and Fujiyoshi were convinced and started smoking it, too. Yoshikawa tried to leave, but they bullied him into at least trying it once (Anko found out and yelled at him, said that she wasn't going to date an addict, and broke up with him. They got back together on Monday). Needless to say, Kikuchi and Urumi did not partake in the festivities, and had in-depth discussions about Aristotle and Plato while their companions got stoned. Onizuka then elected Fujiyoshi as 'destroyer of evidence.' Many times, Urumi and Kikuchi tried to point out that it was just flour, but Onizuka kept ignoring them, and just told Fujiyoshi to dispose of the 'drugs' quickly, and not to use them. When they had all left, he went down to the precinct to punch Toshiyuki's lights out and get back his money.

"I'm soup!" Fujiyoshi exclaimed, flailing about as if he were in a swimming pool and not on the floor. "My testicles…they're… _melting! THEY'RE MELTING! _Save me, Kusano! Murai! KANZAKI!!!!"

"Heatstroke," Urumi said matter-of-factly, twirling her hair around her fingers. "You'd better take him to the clinic before he goes into convulsions…or says something incredibly stupid." As soon as she finished her sentence, Fujiyoshi started screaming something about Miyabi Aizawa and herbal shampoo. Apparently he felt very passionate about both. Urumi smirked. "Case in point."

"Miyabi Aizawa eh? Not a bad choice for you Fujiyoshi. Just as long as she doesn't bite your head off first," Onizuka nodded sagely, and resumed acting like Fujiyoshi was not flopping around on the floor like a fish out of water.

Kunio, Kikuchi, Yoshikawa, and Kusano quickly got up and tried subduing Fujiyoshi, who was now bordering on insanity, but Fujiyoshi started kicking them away. Urumi watched on in amusement. 

"Cut it _out_, Fujiyoshi! We're trying to help you here!"

"THERE IS A BUY 1 TAKE 1 PROMO TODAY ON HERBAL SHAMPOO AT WATSON'S DRUGSTORE!!!!" Fujiyoshi screamed in response. 

Onizuka got up and took a drag of his cigarette. Then, quickly and effortlessly, he wrestled the boy. Well, okay, it _did_ take some effort, since Onizuka had to endure Fujiyoshi screaming about washing Miyabi's hair with herbal shampoo (The teacher also tried to ignore the sound of Urumi's laughter). As soon as his knees were resting on Fujiyoshi's stomach, Onizuka tied his sweat-soaked handkerchief around the boy's wrists, and he motioned Yoshikawa to do the same to his feet. When Yoshikawa was through (after getting kicked in the face by Fujiyoshi), Onizuka hoisted Fujiyoshi's upper body over his shoulder. 

"Oi, oi, the least you guys could do is make yourselves useful," he complained. "Fujiyoshi's putting on a little weight here."

"But you can carry him by yourself!" Kunio protested.

The social studies teacher glared at him. "Do you want to write an essay on the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo?"

"And then I'm going to sing to Miyabi the song I wrote, about washing her hair with Palmolive Essentials Herbal Shampoo With Aloe Vera…"

Kunio wordlessly picked up one of Fujiyoshi's legs, and Kusano and Yoshikawa helped with the other one. They began their descent to the school clinic, followed by Urumi and Kikuchi. It looked like a funeral march, but instead of a coffin, they carried Fujiyoshi, who would just _not_ shut the fuck up, down three long flights of stairs. He was currently singing the soundtrack of his and Miyabi's non-existent relationship. The current track was First Love by Utada Hikaru. It did not particularly help that Fujiyoshi's voice could kill small dogs and other animals of that size. 

"Can someone do all of us a favor and _shut him up_?" Onizuka groaned when they had reached the second to the last floor. "It's bad enough that I know all the things he wants to do with Aizawa and herbal shampoo, but him singing…"

Urumi stuffed her handkerchief in Fujiyoshi's mouth.

"Hehe, good idea, Kanzaki."

She sighed. _That was the most obvious of things to do… _Unconsciously, she ran her palm along the smooth white wall, enjoying its coolness on her skin- a habit of hers, while she was walking along corridors; it was as if she were caressing a pet or a human face, treating the walls as if they could talk and express emotions. After all, she had spent a good part of her younger life talking to walls and telling them her secrets, hoping that they would do as a substitute for a negligent mother. Later in life, though, she realized that the walls were just like her mother, except that her mother was worse since she had the capacity for love and affection, but chose not to give it. While she was meditating on this, her conscience interrupted her. **So, Urumi, Senior Prom… whoopee. Are you going?**

To which Urumi responded, _Depends. Do I really want to go to a stupid dance populated by the airhead cliquies of Seirin High? _Sometimes she wondered whether this was schizophrenia. She _did_ hear a voice. She conversed with it, too, albeit mentally. What _was_ the difference between having a dispute with your conscience and actual schizophrenia? __

**You know you want to go. You're just scared… scared of having no one ask you to the prom, ne? You're such a silly girl, Urumi. Death doesn't frighten you, but being dateless does… what has society done to you?**

Urumi frowned. She didn't like where this mental conversation was going. _Shut up._

**Or are you afraid that Kikuchi will ask someone else to go?**

She stopped walking and stared at the wall, as if it were the one talking to her, and not her blasted conscience. _Never say that to me again._

**But that's what you're afraid of, isn't it? **

_Go away_. _Leave me alone. That's not true._ _Menteureuse!¹_

**Are you sure? You're lying. **

_Shut up. Go away… Que tu es emmerdant! ²_

**Then it must really affect you, Urumi-chan… you're arguing in French now… Anyway, Urumi-chan…have you thought up any schemes for the prom? Surely that would be a brilliant way to end your career as a high school student, ne?**

_Schemes…_ Truth be told, schemes had been the last thing on her mind. All she wanted right now was to graduate and take up Economics at Tokyo University. She didn't want to leave what she had and go to the land of the white man, America, to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  She told her mother her plans, and even though Mrs. Kanzaki was a little disappointed that her daughter would not get the kind of education she felt Urumi needed, at least she would be happy. _Schemes, schemes… How to end the school year properly…_

She slumped back against the wall and started chewing her hair for quite some time (she did this a lot when she was in deep thought, and only if she was sure that she was alone) before an idea came to her. It didn't matter at all that it had taken a pretty long time to come up with the hows and the whens and the whos, the only thing that mattered was that she had a brilliant scheme. After rummaging around in her pockets for a few seconds, her hand came into contact with what she was looking for- a small notepad and a pen. She tore off several sheets and started writing.

~*~*~*~*~

The entourage soon reached the school clinic, and the hotheaded teacher started kicking at the door, since both of his hands were preoccupied. When still no one opened the door after a few seconds, he got really impatient and used Fujiyoshi's head to ram the door in. 

"Oi, Moritaka-san! Moritaka-san!" 

"You don't have to do that, you know," Kikuchi said, reaching over and opening the door. 

"But this is an emergency!"

Kikuchi rolled his eyes. "There's still time to do things proper…ah, never mind."

The background music in the nurse's office was usually NUJAPAN 107, but even from outside, one could immediately say that the music was not from the popular rock station, but the sounds of moaning and pain, music only to a sadist's ears. The sight that greeted them was not a pleasant one, either. Like Eugène Delacroix's _The Death of Sardanapalus_ or Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's _The Turkish Bath_, bodies of students were strewn about haphazardly, at least 3 sharing each of the 5 beds in the clinic, and some were on the floor, hyperventilating and showing symptoms similar to Fujiyoshi's. Plastic yellow cups also littered the floor near the students. Naoko Moritaka was not at her desk, but putting ice on the heads of other students and cold compresses on their armpits, necks, and groins. Another thing that was noticeable about Moritaka-san was that she had taken off her doctor's coat, revealing her skimpy tank top and miniskirt. 

_At least something good came out of this_, Kunio thought as he went inside the clinic. 

Before Kikuchi could step inside the nurse's office, someone pulled him back into the hallway. 

~*~*~*~*~

"Just place whoever that is on the floor," Naoko said in a tired voice as she forced some cold water into Mika Nakashima. 

"What the hell?" Onizuka asked, dropping Fujiyoshi on the floor like a sack of potatoes. "What're all these kids doing here? How come they're all faking?"

Moritaka-san stood up and glared at him. "They're not faking. It's heatstroke." She tugged at her tank top. "It's just so hot today…and then the air conditioner broke… Who's my new patient?"

"Koji Fujiyoshi," Yoshikawa answered. "Year 3 Class 4."

"I know him. Just leave him…" Moritaka-san eyed the bodies piling up in her office, and the pleas for death and/or more water. It looked just like a concentration camp. All of a sudden, she didn't want to be a nurse anymore, childhood dream or not. "…somewhere… I have to call the hospital for reinforcements." 

~*~*~*~*~

"What?"

"I need a favor from you."

"What is it?"

A shuffling of paper was heard, and she fished out three pieces of neatly folded notebook paper. "Deliver these to each of the presidents of the other three sections. Copy the note on the blackboard in our classroom."

"What are you up to this time? Look at me… look at me. Yes, you have that look again." _The look of pure evil. What are you planning to do, Urumi? You know you can't hide anything from me._

"What do you think?"

"Something diabolical… something to do with our Seniors' Prom, am I right?"

"Oh, I could never put _anything_ past you, Kikuchi-kun… you're a _genius_, after all," she replied dryly. **Why are you always so mean to him, Urumi-chan? He's done nothing but be nice to you and protect you from yourself…** __

"What exactly are you planning?"

"Patience, Kikuchi-kun…" She smiled despicably, then turned to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with Rie Tanaka…"

Just as she had done earlier, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards him. If only he could reach inside his body and pull his telltale heart out so he could talk to Urumi properly, then he would have done that ages ago- his heartbeat was now irregularly fast. "Tell me."

Unfazed at their closeness, she calmly responded, "It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises."

"I know."

With that he gave up, and loosened his grip on her wrist. She slunk around the corner to attend her mysterious meeting with Rie Tanaka. When she was completely out of sight, he unfolded one of the papers and read its contents. After a few seconds (not much was written on it anyway), he nearly dropped the paper in surprise. 

~*~*~*~*~

*_Apparently if you have a small ass hole, it means that you're a coward, according to a Japanese idiom. Onizuka is referring to a scene in Volume 8 of the GTO manga where he is talking to Fujimori-sensei (Urumi's grade school teacher) and he says that her ass hole is too small, and that he'll widen it, i.e., make her braver. _

_**The Russian-American scientist Urumi is referring to is William Sidis, one of the most intelligent men who ever lived. His parents, Boris and Sarah Sidis were emigrant Jews who escaped anti-Semitic Russian pogroms and fled to America. William James Sidis started reading the New York Times at the age of 2, to surprise his father. He learned to spell efficiently when he was a year old. When he was 8 years old, he surpassed his father Boris (who was a genius with a Ph.D and an M.D.) in mathematics. At 11, he started lecturing about mathematics to college professors. His IQ is estimated as being from around 250-300. No, this is not Urumi's real father. This is just a speculation._

_¹Feminine form of liar. Masculine version is menteur._

_²"You really piss me off!" or You annoy me intensely!"_

_***A note on heatstroke: Causes of heatstroke include: exposure to high temperatures or humidity, dehydration, prolonged or excessive exercise, excess clothing, alcohol, medications, such as diuretics, neuroleptics, phenothiazines, and anticholinergics, cardiovascular disease, and sweat gland dysfunction. Symptoms of heatstroke include: fever (body temperature above 104 degrees F), irrational behavior, extreme confusion, dry, hot, and red skin, rapid, shallow breathing, rapid, weak pulse, seizures, and unconsciousness._

_****French usage in chapters: Yes, there will be more. Actually, I was planning to have Urumi speak French only in later chapters, but I was inspired by _**Vladimir Nabokov's _Lolita _**_(which I'm currently reading) probably the most beautiful love affair with the English language I've ever read (I'm currently on Chapter 11, not bad after a night's reading.) The beginning is so beautiful that I'm going to share it with you guys, like it or not (Yes! I have memorized it!): "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo-li-ta." If you've read Lolita, you'll know that Nabokov occasionally incorporates French into every few paragraphs or so. Anyway, apparently Urumi also thinks in French when she's harried (she speaks it whenever she feels like it), so expect more in the chapters to come. _

~*~*~*~*~

_What mischief does Urumi have up her sleeve this time? What exactly was inside the piece of paper that Kikuchi read? Why is Urumi's appointment with Rie Tanaka so important? Who **is** Rie Tanaka, anyway? For all this and more, stay tuned for the next episode of… _Moonlight Sonata!

A/N: Whoo, what a chapter. If I were to give out awards for each one of my chapters, this one would receive **'Most Trouble To Write'** or **'Most Revisions,' **or simply "***$$#%*@(@))!!)?!!!##@#!!!" **Sorry if the footnotes were a little messy. And do my eyes deceive me? No, there are more K/K fics! Four, to be exact. I checked the new ones out, and I particularly liked Then and Now by Miguel Artadi… ^__^ And hasn't anyone tried to guess the cultural references? ***Pouts*** Now, on to the reviews!

_Riyuji.Raicho_: The chapter title should give the content of the story away. Non troppo is a musical term that means 'not much.' Sorry you didn't like it much. If it helps, I didn't either. ^^;;

_Scarlet_: Well, not exactly _morbid_, but then again, maybe I'm just used to that. I must admit that that chapter was modeled after how my guy friends and I watch porn. ^^;; We've seen so much so ­_parang wala lang_. So, Urumi tolerates it ­_kasi parang wala lang sa kanya 'yun_. They've seen so much of it anyway, so same 'ol, same 'ol. Yeah, summer is indeed upon us… but I'm going to Beijing for a bit…

_Shadow ScytheX_: My reactions to this are somewhat related to Scarlet's. A. Not exactly true. I watch porn with my guy and girl friends. And we do talk a lot while watching. ^__^;;

_Allence of the Weed_: I'm still in the process of beta-ing your fic. I'm still not satisfied with my work as a beta reader, so it'll take a while.

_Cryxxy-chan_: Urumi and the rest of the guys have seen so much that it's like something normal for them. Thanks for reviewing!

_Pyroteknix_: Yeah, there's a shortage of GTO writers… so we've got to make do with what we have, ne? 

_Kairi21_: Yes, I have four muses, my real life partners-in-crime. The complete list of names and what they do may be found in my Bio. And now, to answer your (next) question:

**Where Did You Learn How To Speak Japanese**? I am self-taught, since my parents won't allow me to attend a Japanese language program during the summer. I rely on books, Japanese sites, and the wonderful people on the animelyrics Japanese forum to help me understand things. Since you live in Manila, you may find these books helpful (they're what I use). They're easy to find, just look for them at National Bookstore, along with the dictionaries and thesauri:

**Basic Japanese by Yukihiro Shimamura**: Focuses more on the grammar aspect of Japanese. Includes basic phrases and dialogue, and translation exercises. 

**Lonely Planet Language Survival Kit: Japanese Phrasebook by Kam Y. Lau**: This one is worth your money, and it's pocket-sized too. Has a hiragana/katakana table, a grammar section, Japanese customs, English phrases translated into Japanese with pronunciation guide,  how to order food and get around Japan, and a glossary at the back of the book. It's really for tourists.

**Japanese-English Dictionary Revised by Cyrus Publishing Inc.: **Well, it's a Japanese-English dictionary. Nothing special. One of my first purchases.

**Japanese: Every Topic by Maruyama Chiemi**: Phrases for every situation: when you're out on a date, when you're talking to someone on the phone, renting a room (wink), shopping, when you're at the hospital, etc. Extremely helpful, no grammar though. 

**Read, Write Japanese by Persian Gulf Publications**: Really, really basic hiragana, katakana, and kanji, with pictures. 

It's better if you buy a real textbook though. If you want to learn for free, though, you can browse through the Japanese forum on the animelyrics forums. They have a sticky there where people post helpful Japanese learning sites. You can also attend a Japanese class over the summer. I was supposed to attend a class at this place in Manila. Sorry, I forgot the name… but when I remember I'll tell you. Hope this helped! 

_Seth7_: I must also put in my two cents and say that that was probably the longest review I've **ever** received in my time as a fanfic writer. Yes, I'm aware that the legal age in Japan is 20, and there's such a thing as the Coming of Age festival. Also, I believe I mentioned in my chapter that Onizuka was purchasing/watching the stuff way before he was of legal age. As for the flopped marriage proposal flashback, I don't think it's going to happen. It's up to the reader to decide what happened when he tried to propose. And yes, gumi **does** mean 'group,' but 'kumi' **also** means 'class, group, set, team,' according to several resources. Thanks for the info on Onizuka's namesake, let me try to work him in. The tank Onizuka was reading was Volume 10, where Rei and Kira finally consummate their relationship. ^__^ Besides, I think Onizuka has a softer side to him, too, because, after all, he knows the tune and lyrics to **Chokotto Love** by **Pucchimoni!** Yes, Kanzaki is supposed to go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after graduation. I know the correct Japanese way to write names, but I chose to use the Western way of writing names. Yes, I'm also aware that NA in applications means 'not applicable,' but it means something else to Onizuka, and that's what matters to him, so that's what he writes down. Since this is set three years after the manga/anime, Onizuka has found the time to rebuild his porn collection. It's not that hard, after all. Glad to know that you're half **Filipino!** Thank you for reviewing! 

_Aeris: _Glad I haven't traumatized you yet! We missed you last last chapter! But anyway, thanks for reviewing! 

_duh-hikki-zealot_: Hehe, great to have another person on the K/K ship! ***High-fives***

_Garnet-chan_: Yep, _magaling talaga tayong mga Noypi! Sana huwag naman maulit ang kagalingan natin noong 1998 ngayong 2004, diba? _

_arukas_: Well, I've seen a few here and there… hehe. And the only review I remember with 'smoking' in it was related to Kikuchi. Yep, those after parties… very dangerous. 

**Until the next episode!**


	6. Episode 6: Nataka

Moonlight Sonata

By Luna Stop Swearing

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. The song used at the beginning of the chapter, **Malaya**, is off Cynthia Alexander's album, **Insomnia and Other Lullabyes**. I think I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but it's beautiful. Song _and_ album. ^^

Warning: Nothing you haven't seen before

A/N: Contrary to popular belief… I'm still _alive_! I hope people are still interested! Additional ramblings at the bottom… don't want to keep you from the fic itself! ^__^

Episode 6: Nataka

_"Here we are,_

_A game of chance_,

_Pale Moondance_,

_Strange romance,_

_We shall find we shall discover_

_What is ours we shall recover._"

-- **Malaya, Cynthia Alexander**

Sounds of, "Do you know what's going on?" and "Why are we here?" were the most prominently heard questions as the entire senior batch attended the caucus in the auditorium that had been the result of Urumi's notes, wagging tongues, and the notice on the blackboard. Had they items to sell, it could have been compared to a Moroccan market- students sat in their own little circles, their 'cliques,' laughing and chatting loudly. Some of them ran around and chased each other like little kids, playing 'war.' Others chose to stand around like mannequins. And others even decided to continue eating lunch in the auditorium.     

Kikuchi was staying put in his dark corner by the Monobloc chairs, contemplating the current situation, driving himself mad by wondering what Urumi could have planned, when he noticed several students whispering amongst themselves, then rushing off to draw the curtains and bar the doors. A stack of Monobloc chairs almost fell on him when several of his batchmates abruptly yanked the stack from its initial position. After surviving a near-fatal chairslide, he stopped one of the people pushing chairs against the doors of the auditorium. 

"What's going on?" 

The student he'd stopped was none other than Rika Sasaki, the president of Class 3-3. As he'd been told that she was putting the finishing touches on her sculpture and disliked being bothered, he wasn't able to meet her and had instead given the note to the VP of the class. At 5'4, Rika looked like a cutesy version of Lolita, minus the nymphet appeal. She had auburn, chin-length hair, and wide purple eyes that often made it seem like she was always being startled. Rumor had it that she was dating the art professor, Yoshiyuki Terada. Some people even said that they had been engaged since she had graduated from junior high. Kikuchi didn't want to assume anything yet since he didn't know Rika all that well, and because he didn't trust rumors. All he was aware of was that she was a fantastic artist, her work had already won prizes, and she was the perfect example of the saying, "small but terrible." Rika could make anyone pay attention if the need arose (which was why she was always elected class president). And when she got mad, not a trace of her angelic-ness could be found on her face. This time, though, she seemed to be in a very amiable mood as she helped Maria Yamamoto, Kyo Maehara, and Aki Maeda jam the door with the school flag. She looked both surprised and happy to see him (or maybe she wasn't, Kikuchi couldn't really tell with those eyes).

Apparently, she didn't hear Kikuchi's question, as she immediately responded with, "Kikuchi-kun! Long time no see! How are you? Anyway, glad to have you on our side!"

_What the heck is she talking about?_ _Never mind… just say yes and nod._ "Yeah." He casually gestured towards the throng. "Big turn-out." _Okay, congratulations for the lamest follow-up **ever**, Yoshito! Just exhale, and find a way to escape. _

Rika laughed as she pushed more chairs against the door. "What else do you expect? Urumi's organizing it, so everyone's going to participate. Besides, everybody's psyched to leave their mark on the school. "

_Time to change the subject, time to leave._ "Rika, have you seen Urumi?"

"She was backstage just a few minutes ago."

"Thanks." 

"Don't mention it."

He dodged bodies, chairs, bags, and whiteboards, and jumped people, lunch bags, and bags as he made his way to the stage- quite an easy feat for the black belter in karate. There, he saw Urumi on the large stage, bending over to talk to someone below her on the auditorium floor. This sighting only increased his eagerness to get to the stage faster. All his plans were shattered as a pair of firm hands yanked him backwards, much like he had done to Yoshikawa earlier in the day. 

_Curiouser and curiouser, thought Alice._ _This day just gets weirder and weirder._ _And people keep yanking me._

"Kunio," he deadpanned, identifying the grabber. Tomoko, Anko, Yoshikawa, and Kusano were with him. Glancing over his shoulder, he noted that Urumi had conveniently disappeared. He inwardly groaned about having come so close to cornering her and squeezing some much-needed information out of her. Deciding to let it pass, he thought it better to find out how his friend was holding up. "How's Fujiyoshi?" When he had left the clinic, Fujiyoshi had been saying _Basu gasu hakusaku_ while being placed onto a stretcher by several medics, along with several other students, as Moritaka-sensei couldn't handle the influx of heatstroke patients. 

"At the hospital, recovering nicely, along with other heatstroke victims all over Tokyo." Kunio smirked. "Have you heard? It's officially the hottest day ever recorded in Japan."

"Thank you for reminding me," Kikuchi replied dryly, tugging at his collar. "And Miyabi and entourage?"

"Went with him to the hospital," Tomoko replied. "Those two should really confess to each other already." Even before freshman year, the Onikumi liked the idea of Fujiyoshi and Miyabi together, and would go to extreme lengths to get the two of them together. It really drove the Onikumi insane that Fujiyoshi and Miyabi both liked each other and acted like a couple, but neither would confess their feelings for the other. In sophomore year, they noticed the possibilities of K and K getting together. This last year of high school was dedicated to getting both couples together by any means imaginable. The conspirators were running out of time, though- they graduated in two weeks.

"Yeah, it's getting irritating already."

"Besides, it's already too obvious that they're crazy about each other," Kusano agreed. 

"And for what purpose did you yank me here?" Kikuchi finally remembered the first question he'd wanted to ask the Onikumi.

"We wanted to know whether you knew what was going on, what Urumi's planning."

Kikuchi helplessly threw up his hands. "I have no clue! All she wanted me to do was deliver notes to the class presidents, then write the message on the blackboard."

"What were in the notes?"

"The same thing that's on the classroom blackboard! I was going to ask her what she was planning and why she needed to involve the entire senior batch, but someone had to pull me back here…"

"Geez, I'm sorry, alright? Remove the stick up your ass sometimes. That can't be too healthy."

Before Kikuchi could dazzle Kunio with his wit, the auditorium grew dark. A spotlight was trained on the stage, and at that, the red curtains parted, revealing the only décor on the entire stage: a flag with an inverted black swastika placed on a blood red backdrop, the sacred senior flag.  There had been an underground turnover ceremony of the senior flag over a year ago, from the graduating batch to the incumbent seniors. Only other class presidents and officers were allowed to witness the event. Ryu Takahashi and Urumi Kanzaki had been bestowed the honor and responsibility of protecting the senior flag and image by its former protectors, following a long tradition of bearers. There had been talks of a blood compact by the more extremist seniors, but it had been ruled out as being too, well, extreme. The extremist seniors and Ryu, a war freak, had been disappointed. As the new protectors of the flag, Ryu and Urumi were given the rules for its usage and care: (1) No member of the admin should see it, and (2) The flag would only be used in times of distress (i.e., batch scandals), and celebration (i.e., graduation). Only once did this batch of seniors ever get to see their flag; that one time when all four classes were accused of cheating on the math exams, and the class presidents held a caucus to decide on one alibi. 

Handel's _Hallelujah Chorus_, the senior anthem, was played. The assembly immediately stood up, saluting the flag of seniority, while a very intimidating figure in a general's attire, with pins and everything, came out from the left wing of the stage. 

Kikuchi groaned. Ryu Takahashi would never miss out on an opportunity to (1) appear onstage, (2) wear that stupid general's uniform, (3) exert his authority, and (4), ham it up. Ryu was the president of Class 3-1, Seirin High's Theater Arts Guild, and the student council, so it was understandable why he was so revered (it also helped that he looked very much like Eiri Yuki). Ever since he was young, power had been a way of life for him. His father had been a high-ranking official in the Japanese army, while his mother had single-handedly run her family's business empire. Girls flocked to him, at least a third of the high school female contingent, an eighth of those _Gravitation_ fangirls. At school, he was a celebrity, much like Rie Tanaka was (they'd been tagged as the _'Star Couple,_ even though they weren't seeing each other), and would often get asked typical, fan-girlish questions, like "If you were stranded on a desert island and couldn't bring a boat, what color underwear would you bring along?" Although numerous articles in the school organ (from the fangirls) spoke of him as having the ideal high school life (rich, handsome, smart, talented, etc.), he openly spoke of how he wished he had a loving family instead of a Ferrari. When he thought about it, Kikuchi realized how much Ryu and Urumi really had in common, which was probably why they got along well. And, despite his obvious arrogance, Kikuchi liked him. In a strictly platonic sense, of course. It was hard _not_ to like Ryu. He exuded arrogance, sure, but he was just too easy-going, too amiable, too funny… the man was a paradox. 

Once Ryu had cleared his throat, the audience shut up and paid attention. He knew that eye contact was key in getting the message across. He had to make the audience _feel_ the speech, get them all riled up. Most importantly, he couldn't fail Urumi. Once he'd read the note, he felt the surge of evilness that he assumed had also flowed through Urumi's fingertips as she wrote the message. And when she approached him backstage to elaborate her plan, he knew he couldn't say no. His only regret about the whole thing was that he wasn't the one who had thought of it. 

"Fellow batchmates, you will bring about the destruction of the administrative war machine, the elimination of the administration's tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Seirin High, and security for ourselves in the last few weeks of high school, and that of batches to come." He started mentally applauding himself. _Okay, that sounded good._ "Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year-" 

An airplane zoomed overhead, making the next few words inaudible. Ryu seemed oblivious. People still had no idea what was going on. 

"Much has happened since our graduation from junior high. The administration has made many rash, unwise choices with concerns to student welfare and education, and we, the student council, kneel before their decisions, totally powerless. They have made a mockery of the capabilities of students, even going so far as to add another day to the already curse-worthy school week, a day which we consider our rest day! Saturday! Well, they have belittled us enough. The tide has turned. We students of the Seirin High are marching together to victory. Of what we are about to do, people will glorify this batch. Students 10, 20 years from now will speak of us and our doings until we pass on into legend. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory." 

Complete silence. 

Then Ai Takahashi (completely unrelated to Ryu, but for her, that made it seem like they had a 'bond' of sorts), a rabid Gravi fangirl and president of the Ryu Takahashi Fan Club, screamed out, "I love you, Ryu!!!!!!!!!!!" Then the fangirls started going crazy, screaming every bit of adulation they had for the dictator-slash-megalomaniac-slash-playboy.  Then the rest of the batch joined in.

Urumi rolled her eyes as she cued the Hallelujah Chorus for Ryu's finale, which consisted of him spreading his arms wide and bowing repeatedly, while the audience cheered, stomped their feet, gave catcalls, applauded, and threw yen and rose petals onstage (Ryu's fangirls could easily be spotted as they carried around velvet pouches filled with red rose petals, which they scattered on the ground he walked upon. This sparked quite a conflict a while back, since the school cleaners were not at all pleased about having to sweep all those rose petals. In the end, it was decided that the fangirls would have to sweep up the rose petals immediately after they hit the ground). She turned on her phone and dialed a number she knew well.

"Urumi-chan," the person on the other line said in a cute, high-pitched voice.

"It's almost over. We got the message across… I think. Where are you?"

"Bay Bridge."

"Situation?"

"Teachers behind me. All or most of them, I think. I recognize Kochitani's car, the Cresta, Sanomaru's…Teachers on bikes, too."

"Well, be careful. I don't want to lose one of my best people."

The girl on the other line rolled her eyes. Not that Urumi could see, anyway. "Just how long have I been working for you?" 

Urumi let out a genuine laugh. "Excellent. Return to base."

"Roger that."

~*~*~*~*~

While Ryu was giving his speech, something, somewhere else in the school, was happening. 

(Since almost every part of it is filled with swearing and other unprintable material, the author has decided to just give a synopsis of the events that transpired, minus almost all of the dialogue, upon the insistence of several concerned parents and morality activists.)

Rie Tanaka had stolen Fukuroda-sensei's car in plain view of the faculty room (which overlooked the parking lot), which was relatively easy for her since she was used to that kind of delinquency, her brother being a gang leader and all. After jamming the key into the ignition (which she'd stolen earlier during P.E.), she sent out a flare, which was the signal for her friend Ysa Villongco to run to the faculty room and tell the teachers that Rie had stolen Fukuroda's car, provided that they hadn't noticed yet. Then she drove the car to the school gates. Lucky for Rie that Commissioner Sakurai had attended an afternoon seminar on modern teenagers.

Once someone had opened the door to the faculty room and Ysa had yelled out that a student had stolen Fukuroda's car, the teachers in the room started rushing to the window. Rie put on a black ski mask, opened the car door, stepped out, waved her middle finger at them, went back in the car, and sped off. 

It didn't take the teachers long to respond. Fukuroda got out his shotgun (which he kept in his foot locker). Uchiyamada, as usual, refused to bring the police in, and would make do with whatever resources he had: the teachers. He ordered all the other teachers to stop what they were doing and find cars or bikes or something and chase after the student and the car. Other teachers with cars joined in the chase for the renegade. Several teachers with no cars, like Fuyutsuki, were forced to rent bikes and scooters, or ride in other teachers' cars. 

After an exhaustive search of every possible Onizuka haunt, Ysa found Onizuka smoking in the men's bathroom on the third floor, when he should have been teaching Social Studies to Class 3-1. She quickly informed him of what was really happening, and he nodded, saying that he'd help Rie ditch the car, then sneak her back into school. He got on his motorcycle and joined the chase. 

Anyway, the teachers in their cars and on their bikes were now chasing the beat-up old Toyota along Tokyo Bay Bridge. 

The part-time teenage idol singer smiled as she threw her cellphone onto the passenger seat, having finished her conversation with the catalyst, who most people simply called Urumi Kanzaki. The purpose of her actions was to distract the teachers from figuring out why the entire senior batch were missing from their classes. That was easy- she'd been drag racing since she was 15. Now that her initial mission was over, another one emerged: to get rid of the car and go back to school. That, however, was not as easy as the first. 

Turning on the radio (it was set to K-OLD, and Rie didn't particularly like it since it usually played enka and opera stuff) and changing the station to NUJAPAN, she checked the rearview mirror once again, and noted that she had to think of something insane fast, since teachers were gaining on her. She pushed down on the gas pedal hard and turned the car around, heading towards Kichijoji Point. Driver's High by Laruku was playing at that time. 

"How appropriate," she groaned. "Something about flirting with death through driving." A second passed. "Great. I'm talking to myself… The stress must be really getting to me. Argh… and I have to appear on guest star on Ayumi Hamasaki's new PV… Tasukete!!"

Suddenly, someone started rapping at her window. It was a man wearing a Pikachu head, riding a Kawasaki Z2, which gave his identity away. Still slightly shocked, she rolled down her window quickly. "O-Onizuka-sensei?"

The man lifted the front of his Pikachu head and grinned. "Tanaka-san… heh. Get on."

"WHAT?" It was terribly hard to maintain a conversation _and_ drive. Well, it was easier on a cellphone, but when someone was talking to you from outside your window, well… "I'm DRIVING, if you haven't noticed, sensei. I don't see how I can just get on your bike."

"Just stop the car. _Ba-ka_."

"_Urusai! _ I… I can't!"

"Are you _scared_, Tanaka-san?"

That did it, apparently, as Rie slammed on the brakes, got out of the car, and jumped onto the back of the motorcycle, wrapping her arms around Onizuka's waist.  She had been raised by her brother, Kyo, the leader of the Kichijoji-based gang, Kami no Kaze, to show no sign of weakness. He didn't want her to grow up spineless, someone who would cry about every single hurdle that life shot at her. When they were orphaned, Kyo imposed a strict (and probably the only) rule in their house: she could never cry. The concept of not crying was new to her then since, all she had to do to get attention was cry, and her mother or father would baby her. _"But where are otousan and okaasan now?"_ He had asked her once when she tried defending herself, saying that it wasn't wrong to cry. She hadn't been able to answer, knowing then that she had been defeated. 

_"Otousan died because his body was too weak. Okaasan died because her mind was too weak. I can't allow you to follow their paths, Rie. Crying is weakness. Never show it."_ To be called a coward was the worst insult to either Rie or Kyo. Both refused to be called 'weak,' or 'scared,' or 'cowards.' It was simply not acceptable. 

"I am _not_ scared," she told Onizuka firmly. "And I can explain everything, sensei…"

He laughed as he drove into an alley, a little-known shortcut heading back to Seirin. They were already well past the speed limit. "Whatever you say, Tanaka-san. Your crony already told me everything I need to know, so it would be better if you shut up for the duration of the trip and hope that the administrators don't know you did it." 

"I was wearing a mask…"

"Well, you aren't now." He took off the Pikachu head and threw it away. It fell onto a pile of dog poop. 

"That I know."

"I hope you didn't leave any incriminating evidence."

Rie cupped her pocket. Something didn't feel right. Then she pinpointed the problem. "Uh-oh."

Back in the Toyota, her cellphone started ringing.

~*~*~*~

  
After giving everyone important details of tomorrow's happenings, Ryu and Urumi dismissed their batchmates and told them to blame it on heatstroke. The seniors were thrilled with the duo's scheme-nothing like that had ever happened at Seirin before, and they were more than happy to make their mark in the school's dull history. Kikuchi waited in a corner until he was sure that Urumi was alone (Ryu's fangirls had immediately formed a phalanx around their god and escorted him out) before approaching her. She had just jumped off the stage, and looked incredibly pleased with herself. 

"Ah, Kikuchi-kun," she smiled at him. "Did you like our performance?"

"It was… interesting," he admitted. "Where did Ryu get his speech?"

"I'm surprised you don't know,'" she said, feigning shock.

He adjusted his glasses. _Same sarcasm. Same wit. Nothing's changed, ne, Kanzaki? I'll feel sorry for your husband. If you ever find the mental capacity to submit yourself to someone else, that is. _"I'm only human, after all."

"Of _course_ you are…" Urumi murmured in the low, sexy voice she rarely used. In all their time together, Kikuchi had only heard it at least once or twice. "…With a brain and the ability to think… and a penis that's becoming erect as I speak…" Her hand 'accidentally' ran over the general area of his pants where the other best friend of man resided. 

Kikuchi's initial reaction was to grab his crotch and run away. Because he had a niggling thought that initial reactions were always the best, he did so, only stopping at the exit when he heard Urumi laugh. 

"I can't believe you fell for that!" She gasped, trying to squeeze in words between all the laughing. 

He looked down. No wood. For a moment there, he didn't know how or what to feel. Betrayed? Amused? Angry? Stupid? RELIEVED that the mere sight of Urumi did not wake up his demons? He just watched Urumi laugh and try to regain some dignity for a while. _Urumi… sometimes I wish you'd always smile. Always laugh like this. Even if it means I have to make an ass out of myself… Shit, what the hell is wrong with me?_ He let it pass. "Very droll, Kanzaki. So, Ryu made his own speech?"

She rolled her eyes and started heading towards the exit. "No. But it was still so…"

"Exaggerated?"

"Yeah."

"So… big day tomorrow."

"I'm going to sleep at Onizuka's place later tonight after I get some things from home. And several other people are coming back at around 8 to camp in the classrooms. We're going to start preparing at around 2 AM or so. Are you coming?"

**Say yes, say yes, say yes, you horny idiot, say yes.**

"Am I really needed?"

"You're my right hand man." She regretted saying that the minute it left her lips. **He'll think you're hitting on him! Wait, Urumi-chan… are you hitting on Kikuchi-kun?**

_Shut up, shut up, shut up… NO I AM NOT!!!_

"If I _am_ really your right hand man, I would've known, and Ryu wouldn't."

"Am I detecting a hint of jealousy, hmmm, Kikuchi-kun?"

"NO!"__

"You like me, don't you Kikuchi-kun?" She asked, half in jest. Her young, inexperienced heart thudded in anticipation. _I know it's flaky… but I really hope he says yes… GAH! I am such a **girl!**_

**How the fuck are you going to answer that? You can't let her know that you like her… she might push you away. She's done it before, remember? **

He did remember. Sanzo had hit on her years ago, but at the slightest hint of attraction, Urumi turned him down. Her mother had warned her against love, saying the stuff was for fools. And Urumi was certainly no fool. 

"Grow bigger boobs and we'll talk," he grinned.

"For God's sake, Kikuchi, you of all people should know that I cannot simply water my breasts and watch them grow like melons." 

As she said that, Kikuchi already had a little picture in his head, of Urumi lying topless in a garden with a watering can, drizzling water on her breasts. He shook off the thought and tried to focus. She did an akambe when she noticed that he seemed out of it.

"And, wait. Why did you say I of all people should know that you can't water your breasts… and so on? I'm not a woman, and I'M NOT GAY! And I'm no Sanzo Hisashi!"

"But so what if Ryu knew first and not you? Now you know, and so does everyone else." 

"You're changing the subject."

"Because I know you're uncomfortable with the previous subject."

He was right- it was a good idea to change the subject. She did another akambe. "You can 'akambe' all you like for all I care… wait, what do you need with several thousand boxes of orange Jell-O and goldfish? And sand and baby oil, how do you explain that? And the chickens and frogs? And everything else?"

"You'll see."

"And where is the speech from?"

"Tsk tsk. Always impatient. All in due time, Kikuchi-kun."

~*~*~*~

**NOTES**:

**Cultural background of the swastika**: Maybe some of you were offended by that. Maybe some of you thought it was cool. (Or for you Flips, _asteg_) Anyway, I would just like to explain the background of the swastika, pre-Hitler. The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix. Until the Nazis used this symbol, the swastika was used by many cultures throughout the past 3,000 years to represent life, sun, power, strength, and good luck. It is the oldest cross and emblem in the world. It has been found in ancient Rome, excavations in Grecian cities, on Buddhist idols, and on Chinese coins dated 315 B.C. It forms a combination of four L's standing for Luck, Light, Love and Life. Even in the early twentieth century, the swastika was still a symbol with positive connotations. For instance, the swastika was a common decoration that often adorned cigarette cases, postcards, coins, and buildings. During World War I, the swastika could even be found on the shoulder patches of the American 45th Division and on the Finnish air force until after World War II. Then after WW2, everything went down the toilet for the swastika. 

**Enka**- A representative genre of Japanese popular songs, songs in the traditional style. This appeals to the older set. Sort of like… how The Beatles would seem to 6 year-olds. 

**Akambe**- This is a gesture mostly done by children. You pull down the skin under your eye and stick out your tongue. Urumi did this once in the anime.

**GLOSSARY**

I can only suppose that you've been in the (anime) ficverse long enough to know basic Japanese. But if you're a n00b, then…

**Basu gasu hakusaku**- This is actually "Basu gasu baku hatsu," which means 'bus gas explosion.' This is a typical Japanese tongue twister. Apparently Fujiyoshi's not that good at them. 

**Baka**- All-around Japanese insult, meaning, 'idiot.' It's used so often that I think it's required for every anime to have it.

**Urusai**- "Shut up!"

**Okaasan**- Mother.

**Otousan**- Father.

**Kami no Kaze**- Literally, God's Wind. I apologize if it seems cheesy. It was the result of a spasm of intellect, which doesn't come very often, I'm afraid.

**Tasukete**- "Help me!"

~*~*~*~

_What could Urumi want with Orange Jell-, goldfish, sand, chickens, baby oil, and frogs? What's going to happen to Rie Tanaka and her cellphone? Will Urumi's 'garden' ever grow?  Will anything happen between K/K during the sleepover at Onizuka's? Where did Ryu steal his speech from? Curious? Find out in the next episode of_ Moonlight Sonata! _Stay tuned!_

A/N: If anyone's noticed, there's a pattern with my updates- they're all on a Friday. Unfortunately, this one was a little late because I had an anxiety attack last Friday, due to the giving of report cards. I did quite well, though, and was inspired to improve this chapter (my pathetic excuse as to why it's a little late ^^;;). I think this must be my longest chapter yet. I hope you guys liked Ryu's speech, even though I ripped most of it off of a famous before battle speech. I just changed some lines and added more to fit the current situation. If your knowledge of history is up to par, you may have come across it. Cultural references abound. And I gave some of them away already. I also apologize if it got a little messy towards the end, Kikuchi and Urumi's thoughts and all. AND watch out for the exchange student from the Philippines, Ysabel Villongco. She will appear in almost every GTO fic I write (yes, I have another plot up my sleeve), as well as in Allence of the Weed's debut fanfic, which is, as of yet, untitled. A further note. Is anyone still interested in any new chapters of Moonlight Sonata?

Second A/N: I'm going to the Beijing for the summer, one and a half months, I believe, an educational trip. You guys know what that means… no further updates until May. Don't worry guys, I _will_ work on the fic so I can immediately post something upon my return. If I can use the Net over there (hopefully it'll be in English), I'll try to post. 

Author's Note for the Flips: Was anyone else (aside from Riyuji-kun) at the Animax Carnival at Glorietta? There was a really… _kakkoii _Onizuka cosplayer (I even got a nice picture of him!), too bad he didn't win. _ On to the reviews. 

_Allence of the Weed_: I was wondering whether you'd notice that little detail… Nothing gets past you, ne? I was worried that maybe I made Fujiyoshi-kun a little **too** OOC.

_DarkFusion_: I'm not sure if getting high on flour is at all possible, but I can safely say that I won't be among the first to conduct experiments. That part was partially inspired by an episode involving Onizuka's cop friend, if anyone remembers. Urumi did the same thing to the 'drugs.' Actually, I wasn't even going to put that in. That was really last minute.

_Scarlet_: Good thing na _bumenta sa 'yo 'yun, at napakahirap isulat 'yun. _^^;; (Is it just me, or do I seem to say that about all my chapters?) A little implied Fujiyoshi/Miyabi, no real stuff yet. If I can work it into my storyline, I will, for all the F/M shippers here. But Random House is expensive! ***ponders*** Ah, the price of quality education. 

_Seth7_: Of note is this: It's not Ichijoji, it's not Kichigoji. It's **Kichijoji**. Thank you for pointing that out! Additional info: Kichijoji is a bustling shopping area. Anyway, thanks for the link and the recommendation of kanji cards. I'll be sure to check those out when I have oodles and oodles of euros/dollars/yen. 

_Riyuji.Raicho_: Good luck with the cultural reference hunt! I'll be sure to imbed more. ;)

_Aeris_: You did? Yay! *Throws confetti* Anyway, when Moonlight Sonata is over (*sob*), I'll probably post all the cultural references.

_duh-hikki-zealot, Ezrael Andvari, dsL0CaTed.BoDy.PaRt_: Glad you liked the last chapter! Glad you noticed that, Ezrael-san. Didn't think anyone else would. dsL0CaTed, yep, we Flips are really something alright… ^__^

_Kairi21_: General Santos… *sweatdrop* Gomen ne! I thought you lived in Manila. I forgot to mention this in my last chapter, but Kairi-chan, you can probably find some software that teaches you Japanese. I have one or two of those, and another one to help me with my Chinese. ^^;;  As for how old I am… people have been asking me that a lot lately, and I feel obligated to make them guess. ^__^;;

_Garnet-chan_: Yes she did! She also did some voice work for another anime I really like, Azumanga Daioh. She's also one of my favorite seiyuu singers… along with Seki Tomokazu and Yui Horie, of course. And she's so _cute!_  

**Additional information on Seki Tomokazu:** He did the voice work for Kunio and Shindou Shuuichi's vocals for Gravitation, (which I'm currently obsessed with, hence the reference to it somewhere in this chapter), and is part of the J-pop seiyuu group Project Weiss. 

**Rie Tanaka in Moonlight Sonata**: This Rie Tanaka is a young idol singer/actress, who tries very hard to balance both schoolwork and showbiz. She's been friends with the Onikumi for quite a while now, but is not one of them. However, she is eager to help out in Urumi's schemes, partly because this boosts her popularity and album sales, for some reason. 

_Chareon_: Hehe, thanks for the support, but I seriously doubt I'll be a famous author. I don't mind all the questions, by the way. ;)

_Shadow ScytheX_: For a majority of the hormonally-charged teenage male population, it is. Thanks!

_Elle30_: I can sympathize with you! Ah, well, c'est la vie. Anyhoo… St. Scho's not a bad place, from what I hear. ^__^  Personally, I'm afraid of Ragnarok Online. I'm afraid I'll get addicted. Though I would like to try it at least once, I'd rather my money go to anime and manga. Or music. ^^;;

_Mari Kreuz_: Yumi-nee-san! Thought I'd lost you there for a bit. _Buti na lang, hindi._ And yes, I watch that stuff. *shame face* Or used to, anyway. Unearthed it on otou-san's comp. ^___^ I always make it a point to squeeze in some random reference to our country… _Ang saya saya!_

**Until the next episode!**


	7. Episode 7: Sforzando

Moonlight Sonata

By Luna Stop Swearing

A/N:  Yay, I'm back! My apologies, I've gone 10 weeks without watching a single (complete!) GTO episode, so it may be a little different than previous chapters (in that they may be slightly out of character?). Wow. Massive influx of K/K fics since my departure. Not that I mind, of course. Wonderful fics. And someday, schedule permitting, I may be able to read some of them. :D  Not much seriousness here as in previous chapters. Remember, italics are character's thoughts. Words in bold are the character's conscience. It may get a little sloppy later.

Disclaimer: I'm a poor graduating senior who shops at the P99 Store in Glorietta. Please don't sue me. Puss-in-Boots eyes

Episode 7: Sforzando

"Tadaima!"

"Ne… Kunio-kun… do we still have any beer?"

Kunio Murai frowned as he saw his mother in an orange bikini, leaning over the refrigerator, looking for her favorite afternoon thirst-quencher. Okay, maybe not limiting it to afternoons, beer was her Gatorade. 

"Why are you wearing that?" He practically screamed, outraged, grabbing the nearest piece of cloth that came into contact with his hands. Despite the fact that it was a dishrag, he tossed it onto his mother's bare back. "Who do you think you are, Maki Gotou?"

Julia Murai stood up straight, hands on her firm hips, so she could give her son a good frowning. At 31, she was still the amazing specimen of womanhood and embodiment of lust that she was at 28. Three years hadn't changed her much- her glares were still quite intimidating, and when she exerted effort, they could rival those of Heero Yuy's. But that didn't mean that her son paid much attention to them. "And who do _you_ think you are to tell me these things, Gakuto Camui?"

Kunio rolled his eyes. His mother, along with millions of other women all over Japan, was in love with the metrosexual poster boy and ex-lead singer of Malice Mizer. Sometimes when she and her girlfriends would have their 'all-vice day' (a day filled with smoking, gambling, drinking, chatting, and eating fattening foods), she would always announce that he was the only man who could make her settle down. And that would launch a very fangirlish discussion about his private life, which led to celebrity gossip, which led to Utaban… Kunio knew better than to stay at home during All Vice Day- he usually camped out at Fujiyoshi's or Kusano's. He tried to steer the discussion away from Gackt and sexy ex-members of idol groups. "Never _mind_. Listen, 'kaasan, I have to sleep over at school later tonight…"

"Why?"

"Helping Urumi and Ryu pull some stunts on the admin."

"Okay, okay, you can go… have fun and try not to get expelled. You're graduating for goodness' sake." Julia was pretty lenient when it came to her son's activities. She still knew what it felt like to be young and restless. Kunio knew that, even though he lacked a dad, he had the loosest, funnest mom among his peers, which he was quite thankful for.

"Hai, hai, 'kaasan…" He ran up to his room to change, all the while ignoring his mother's sparkling rendition of Sonin's Curry Rice no Onna.

"Oniisan, what are you doing?"

"Aren't you supposed to be with Yuki today?" Yuki Sakaki was his 20 year-old cousin, who worked as a model at Sakuya, a famous modeling agency located in the heart of the city, renowned for being the starting point of many gorgeous models.

"They called her back at work for another photo shoot for FCUK, so she's picking me up later. We're going to this new place downtown called Utopia." 

The person speaking, the person that Yoshito was speaking to, was none other than Maika Kikuchi, his younger, more colorful, 15 year-old sister. No one in their right minds would even _guess_ that the two were related, they looked so unalike. Sometimes even their friends couldn't believe that the two were siblings. Every time a person was calmly told, "She's my sister," or "That's my brother," the double take was the most common reaction. Or, if not that, the "NO WAY!" Rarely was she brought up in conversations he conducted because, well, he just didn't feel like talking about his rocker chic, smoking, partying, goofing-off, black-sheep, model kid sister. Not that he didn't love her, though. Their parents being away most of the time (their mother had a clothing line whose main office was in Okinawa, while their father was a big-shot exec at a gas company based in France), he was the only thing she had that resembled any boundaries in her life. Him and Yuki. He tried making her cut back on her gimmicks (although he himself knew the exquisite aching, the longing for independence, for freedom), tried making her focus more on her studies. It was hard, but he wasn't giving up, though.

"Aha. Just watch your drink, don't leave it alone."

"I know, I know, people sometimes put drugs in it."

He sighed. It was so easy to say 'I know.' "Just look out for yourself, okay? Yuki won't be around to babysit you 24/7."

She rolled her eyes. "Geez. I've only been going out since I was, what, 13? And has some stranger drugged me yet? Christ, you act like I'm some defenseless little kid."

"Aren't you?"

That earned him her specialty, the Magnum Bitch, the look she says got her a lot of modeling jobs in and around Tokyo. Her explanation was that, everyone was tired of the Morning Musume-type teenage girl, filled with spunk and energy. For the model agencies, a bitchy teenager was a breath of fresh air. Hence, more jobs.

"Oniisan, what are you doing?"

"We're sleeping over at school."

"Why?" As she opened the refrigerator, he scrutinized what she was wearing. Practically nothing- her favorite denim miniskirt with the strategically placed holes and chains along the pockets, a floral tube top, and combat boots. On any other person, this would have looked completely ridiculous, but on Maika Kikuchi, it looked as if Donatella Versace had done her outfit from head to foot. At times like these, Yoshito wished that she wasn't his sister.

_Argh, you perverted bastard Does her being your little sister…ring any bells? Prevent anything from happening, maybe?_

"Project." He started throwing various edible odds and ends into a plastic bag from Wu-Mart.

"And does this 'project,' as you dare call it, involve destroying school property and leaving your batch's mark in the annals of school history?"

The Styrofoam cup of Hot 'N Spicy Szechuan Pork Instant Noodles he was holding fell to the floor. Bending over, he inquired calmly, "So, who called?" That was pure Kikuchi- immediately taking into consideration HOW his little sister could have gotten the information. Since no one had dropped by, he surmised that someone could have called while he was showering.

"Urumi, while you were in the bathroom. She said to meet at Scales and Tails along Ichijoji Stadium Avenue at 7:30, sharp. Hmm, something involving animals. Have you no pity? Shame, even?"

He checked his Swatch, a present from Maika on his 18th birthday. It was still 6:30. Still an hour to kill. "Obviously not."

Maika made herself comfortable on the marble kitchen counter, a large bottle of Sprite in one hand, a bag of chips in the other. She uncapped the bottle and expertly chugged the liquid once, twice, before speaking to her brother again. Dave Barry would have been proud at her uneffemininity. "So when are you going to get a girlfriend?"

"Are you really asking me that question?"

"It came out of my mouth, didn't it? So I'm guessing the answer is… YES. Well?"

Yoshito took a deep breath. The two women in his life, Maika and Yuki, had always been pestering him to go out and find a girl, saying that a girl would probably stop him from being too serious, and would probably get him to loosen up some more. They kept offering to pair him up with model friends of theirs, but he knew better than to date models. No matter what they said, he still held the stereotypical view of models (with exceptions to his cousin and sister, of course). "It's so hard to find a girl nowadays…to find beauty and intellect in one being. Okay, look, I'm not gay, imouto. I'm just looking for someone beautiful who I can maintain intelligent conversations with."

"You're putting words in my mouth! I never said you were gay."

"I know you're thinking it."

She pouted. "Am I that transparent?"

"You're easily read."

"What time are you leaving?"

"In 30 minutes. I have to do my physics homework."

Maika made a face. "You can do that in school, you know."

"There's a reason it's called _home_work."

"School's like a second home, right?"

He sighed. "We're dropping this conversation _now_."

Nothing more was heard for a while as Maika nursed her softdrink, and Yoshito did his physics homework on the kitchen table. The slow, steady humming of the refrigerator seemed to fill the void caused by the silence. Occasionally, a truck or some other vehicle would pass by, sometimes a motorcycle. At one point, they overheard a young couple discussing the perfect place to have sex that night. "Do you have protection?" The girl was saying. The boy replied, "Oh yeah, I stopped at the vending machine before I went to school."

Maika giggled, and then said, "How about Urumi?"

The lead on Yoshito's mechanical pencil broke as his hand applied more pressure on it. "What about her?" _What are you getting at, brat?_

"She's smart. And she's good looking… enough. Why haven't you two hooked up yet?"

"WHAT?"

"Why does your brain completely shut down when we talk about girls? God, I'm really starting to question your sexual preferences."

"She's not my type."

Maika arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Really. Someone who has actually read Aristotle and Plato and is probably the only person who can challenge your intellect. Someone who listens to the same type of eclectic music you do. Someone who I can safely say is a female you. And she's not your type?"

He raised the bridge of his glasses. "That's just it. We're too much alike." **Liar liar, pants on fire. You want her, I know it. Stop lying to yourself. **

"So what, you're looking for some ditzy…airhead to satisfy your carnal desires?'

"I didn't say that, Maika. And why do we always focus on my love life, or sheer lack of one, whenever we talk? Do all roads lead to my nonexistent love life?"

"No, they lead to Rome."

"Very funny. This is turning into a circus. And why don't WE focus on YOUR love life."

"I don't mind. I'm not sensitive about it. I _have_ a FWB, you know."

_No good doing physics now._ He sneered and put down his pencil. "The relationship for the commitment-scared. That's not real. It's a… a pseudo-relationship. It's open. Friends with benefits."

"At least I _have_ a relationship."

"With no strings attached. How wonderful it must be for you."

_Okay, he's getting me pissed._ She slammed the bottle down on the counter, jumped off, and marched towards him, being careful to look directly at her brother. Many people said that his eyes were scary, that they looked like they were always guarding some dangerous secret, or pushing people away. Some people had told her that if they gazed at his eyes long enough, all he had to do next was snap his fingers and they would be at his every command. Intimidating, her friends claimed his eyes were. But she wasn't scared of them. She thought they were quite captivating, in fact.

"You know what? It actually is. It actually feels **great** to have someone you love kiss you, and touch you, and make you feel good. Make you feel wanted. Maybe you'll crave that someday, when you're in your lonely world filled with meaningless words and numbers. Or are you too much of a rock to actually feel anything?"

_She's going too far. Little bitch with the big mouth. Thinks she knows everything._ _Eventually, she'll have to learn that that an open relationship isn't going to work out in the long run. The guy has no emotional ties in this relationship. He just thinks of her as a friend, that's about it. A friend with benefits, duh. But she's probably invested feelings in this, whether she admits it or not. She loves Negi, but I doubt he reciprocates…_

**Damn. You REALLY think too much.**

A honk, familiar to both, was heard outside.

_Thank God_. "That's Yuki."

**Oh yes. Congratulations. You have just graduated from the plane of the obvious, Kikuchi Yoshito. **

_Thank you, Yuki._ "Yeah. I should get going."

_Yes, leave me alone._ "I'll be leaving soon, too."

Both despised small talk, but after her monologue, there seemed to be nothing more appropriate to say. It wasn't the first time that he was rendered speechless by something she had said.

Grabbing a black leather jacket draped over her seat at the dining table, she said without the slightest hint of sarcasm, "Enjoy your little school prank."

"We plan to. Have fun, uh, hanging out with Yuki and Negi."

"Hmm. Oniisan?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry for saying that. I didn't mean it. You know how I get when I'm worked up."

"Or when we talk about your pseudo-relationship in the negative light."

"Can we not start again? I like Negi. As a friend. And we make out and touch each other sometimes. I do not have any emotional attachments in this… arrangement, if it's not a relationship to you."

"Just helping you think things through before you do something you'll regret."

"I am NOT going to lose my virginity just like that to Negi Tomokazu. Nephew of Seki Tomokazu or no."

"You'd better not." Sometimes he couldn't help but feel amazed that he could endure hearing his little sister (whom he'd practically raised) talk about such mature things like kissing, sex, and the like. Were today's kids really growing up that fast? _Ah, I feel old._ _I wonder what Urumi would say._

"You should ask Urumi out. Really. You two click."

Before he could come up with a quick, witty rebuttal, she'd already slammed the door. Sounds of her heels clacking against the cement were heard, then a loud, "YUKI!" followed by an equally loud, "MAIKA-CHAN!" A car door was slammed, then after a nanosecond, the screeching of car wheels on asphalt. Yoshito closed his physics notebook, then looked up at the ceiling. Then he wondered the possibilities of pursuing a relationship with the cynical biatch (which is worse than a bitch), Urumi Kanzaki.

Frequent trips to Kichijoji General Hospital as a child (for she was quite a sickly when she was a child and had to keep going back each week for treatment) had made her accustomed to the plastic-death-and-medicine scent of the place. She remembered that she had disliked coming here every Friday morning, several years ago, to get her shots. It always felt like with every injection, a part of her was also being extracted. Another reason why she hated this place was because it was a 'portal of death,' as she called it. Friends, family, they came in, and never came back out. What scared her most back then (even up to now) were the little children her age in the cancer wing, whose innocent faces looked so hollow and pale, void of life, who remained hopeful that they would get better, when the truth was that they might fall asleep now and never wake up tomorrow.

Determined to find him by herself, on her own merits, she'd told her friends not to go with her. It was _her_ mission. She'd been practicing how to deliver it for months now, in front of her vanity, sometimes I and now seemed as good a time as any. With prom coming up and all.

"Radiology, OB/GYNO…" She read from a placard on the wall. "Dammit… where are the wards?"

"Excuse me, miss? Are you lost?"

She turned around to find a decent-looking man in a doctor's coat, young, maybe late twenties, early thirties, clean-shaven, brown hair, amethyst-colored eyes. That was pretty normal in Japan, anyway. Not bad looking, actually.

_Seriously, are we actually HAVING that thought now?_

"Oh, uh, hi. I was looking for a patient? He's suffering from heatstroke, they just brought him in a little while ago. I was looking for the heatstroke wing, in case you have one." She'd heard on the news that hospitals all over Japan were converting some of their cancer wards into temporary housing for the heatstroke patients, there were so many.

The doctor smiled. "A patient. Well, Miss…"

"Aizawa."

"Well, Miss Aizawa, you'll have to be a little more specific. There are a little over a hundred and twenty heatstroke patients in here today. Do you at least have his name, or did you accompany him in an ambulance and realize that you two might actually hit it off well together?" 

"What?" _He did NOT say that._

"Do you at least have his name?" The doctor repeated.

"Koji Fujiyoshi."

"Oh, him!" The doctor laughed. "He's doing William Hung impersonations, dancing and singing on his hospital bed… we keep trying to sedate him, you know. Go straight, then first door on the right. You can't miss it."

_Oh God, William Hung. Thankfully I'm going to knock some sense into him._ "Thank you, Doctor… sorry, I didn't get your name."

"Tsuzuki. Asato Tsuzuki."

"Thank you, Doctor Asato."

"My pleasure, Miss Aizawa."

_Are all Japanese parents businesspeople who live in faraway countries or are never at home to supervise their children? What the hell is Scales and Tails? What's Miyabi going to do to Fujiyoshi to straighten him out? (wink wink!) WHEN ARE THE PRANKS GOING TO START?!? All this and more in the next episode of_ **Moonlight Sonata**!

A/N: Ooh, plot twist. Kikuchi's sister. I must explain. Yoshito acts the most human around three people: Maika, Yuki, and Urumi. I hope the banter was acceptable for all of you, and I hope, not too OOC. Just trying to show that, genius or no, he's still human. And although he rarely shows the world, he feels like we do, too. And yes, the typical story set in Japan… sans parents! :D Sorry if it seems a bit cheesy, but I thought doing that would also contribute to Kikuchi's maturity and independence. On to the reviews!

_Garnet-chan_: Oh, someone noticed perhaps the most glaringly obvious of references imbedded in MS. Rika wasn't even supposed to be there, but when I wrote down the chara description (and did a little research on the actual Rika), I decided to toss in Terada-sensei.

_Miguel Artadi_: High praise from a great author. Thanks!

_Kairi21, Aeris TheCrimina1, SVZ, Shadow Angel5, SILENT TROWA, Hermionini, Fallen Angel980, urumi-chan, Ayce Shade, Intel Inside Pentium 4: _Thanks for the feedback!  (Pentium 4? That's my model!)

_DarkFusion_: Fujiyoshi/Miyabi. Hmm… Well, you got what you wanted! A little F/M for all. Mayu… no, I haven't forgotten about him, and it really is a shame that he would miss out on the pranks K and Co. are going to pull. Watch our for him.

_GreatLight432_: Kunio and Kujirakawa? I'm not sure. If people bug me enough about it, probably. wink

_Scarlet_: Sign of intellect? Hmm… Well that's something to add to my knowledge bank. Thanks for reviewing!

_Allence of the Weed_: Well, dear, because Kikuchi, genius or no, is only human (although I know he's achieved something of a deity status with you ). That was just a mind game. Let's say a person approaches you, rubbing his neck. He'll tell you to rub your forehead. You'll most likely rub your neck instead. Sorry, didn't bring home a papa for you. Wouldn't fit inside my trunk, and I had already reached the baggage limit there.

_arukas_: I don't know, really, I guess I just feel like going through the trouble of doing so. Always a pleasure to hear from you.

_taiyou_: I hear you. Yes, there'll be more. THAT, I wouldn't worry about. I want them together as much as anyone else.

_19Nina Sakura07_: Twists. Stick around, dear, there'll be more.

_Miriae_: I think a lot of people find the same piece endearing. I love it too, but can't play the piano for shit, so I'm asking my shobe [little sister, pardon me for slipping into Fookien] to learn it.

_tacky-kun_: I applied at STC, but got rejected because of my Math grade. And because my father wasn't Catholic. Oh well. Their loss. [/bitch mode] (Theresians, I mean no harm. I'm just touchy about that.)

_smilingidiot_: Yeah, most people tend to think that I'm not a Filipino writer, for some reason. Do you read Culture Crash, by the way? Anyway, thank you for the, um, idea. If I dare to ever use it, I'll give you credit.

_Elle30_: Wow… that puts a little pressure on me and Moonlight, _pero okey lang!_ I'll still try to make quality fics, _hindi basta basta lang._ I'd be an insult to yaoi/yuri fans if I were to call myself a yaoi/yuri fan. I don't exactly crave it, but I'm not repulsed when I do see it. It's acceptable in my mindset. And yeah, I had fun.

_=-yemen-=_: Haha, a Pinoy found that reference. That station's my favorite, by the way. My favorite DJ is… Francis Brew! _Ganda boses e!_ Love the way he says "NU Rock, NU 107" after the set of songs. [/fangirl mode]

_svnte2n: _As much as I like to keep readers guessing, I have a heart, too. Wow, you're new to ficcing? Hmm, that seems like eons ago to me. ;; In the beginning, you just can't get enough and will seem to read anything you get your hands on, but as time passes, you keep getting pickier and pickier. I hope you find all the gems the fanfiction world has to offer.

_kyria valkyrie_: Ah, sis. Goosie, don't forget to keep writing as well. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work. (ribbit! Hehe… )

_Odd Tailor_: Yeah, you got my name right! Of course I don't mind you using the term 'Onikumi.' (Not that it's copyrighted or anything!) I'm quite honored, actually.

Wow, that's it! Whew. And I've reached my hundredth (and one!) review! Your worries of me abandoning Moonlight are OVER! And, you guys got your regular dose of angst and mush. Putting out a chapter feels so good. I hope you guys liked this chapter! 

**Until the next episode!**


	8. Episode 8: Dissonance

Moonlight Sonata

By Luna Stop Swearing

Disclaimers: Tohru Fujisawa owns.

Episode 8: Dissonance

It was two hours later (9:30 P.M.), and the few dedicated to the task of leaving their mark on the school by means of vandalism and destruction were gathered in what had been christened Doomsday Conference Room, which was actually the Seirin High audiovisual building.

The audiovisual room-rather, building, was one massive room constructed pretty much like the auditorium: it was exaggeratedly large, probably the size of two and a half football pitches, it was built to seat a little under 2000 people (in short, the entire Seirin population, students plus faculty and staff and a couple hundred visitors), and the walls were white and the floor was marble tile. The only difference was that the AVR had a huge white screen which covered almost the entire wall of the stage. Projected on this screen were educational movies, which were showed almost every week. Movies the seniors had seen during their last year at Seirin included _Hero_, _Citizen Kane_, _Bayaning Third World_ (Third World Hero, for the non-Tagalog speaking audience), _Sexual Reproduction: Answering the Who, Where, What, Why, When, and HOW?_, and _The Kama Sutra_ (Onizuka insisted on this follow-up to _Sexual Reproduction_ after he was flooded with questions from his male students on how to sufficiently satisfy a girl, and vice versa. It was a private screening, as well as an illegal one). There were also several other doors lined along the doors, which led to the various video editing rooms, recording rooms, video library, darkrooms, and the equipment storage rooms. Here was where the notorious audiovisual geeks hung around. Or where some students made amateur porn.

Now, however, only the first two rows of chairs had been occupied by the two dozen and a half (or to put it simply, 30) students who bothered showing up, or whose parents didn't really care where their children were. The Onikumi were up front and center, as they were the next in command. Of all the 100 or so lights that were scattered around the AVR, only 10 of them were on, enough to illuminate the faces of the attendees and the hosts. Everyone was also in their sleeping attire (from boxers and shirts to baby pink pajamas), chatting excitedly at what was about to transpire.

Urumi and Ryu nodded at each other as they ascended the stage from opposite sides. They walked over to the whiteboard strategically placed in the center of the stage, on which two of the ten spotlights were focused. Urumi coughed to get everyone's attention, and naturally, succeeded in doing so.

"Welcome, everyone, to the first phase of Operation SULONG," she said, writing the word in black pentel on the whiteboard. "-Which is the briefing from the two coup leaders, whom you very well know. I am Urumi Kanzaki, he is Ryu Takahashi. I hope we don't need to give any other form of introduction."

"What does SULONG stand for?" A girl in a white tank top and black cycling shorts called out from beside Anko. This was Michiko Miyake, vice president of Class 3-3 (whom Kikuchi had passed the note on to), and class vice president since freshman year. Since she didn't seem to mind, her classmates kept nominating her for the position and she kept winning. She was even vice president of her club, Gestalt.Matrix, or the Maths club. An active member of the student council (of which she was vice president of), she moved in Urumi and Ryu's general circles, but was not exactly 'friends' with either. 'Acquaintances' would be a more appropriate term.

"First of all, I would like to stress that neither of us came up with the name," Ryu explained. If he was displeased with the name, he was definitely showing it now. "The brainchild behind our name is none other than our batchmate Ysa Villongco, who happens to be a lieutenant in our little organization's pyramid of power. Ysa-chan, if you would be so kind as to stand up and write down what SULONG stands for on the whiteboard?"

A girl in a gray knee-length sleeveless cotton nightgown stood up. She was distinguishably not Japanese, for her skin was tanner than the others, she was shorter than most girls her age, her eyes were slightly larger, and she had this exotic, tropical aura about her that screamed, "I'm not frigging Japanese, okay?" Her full name was Victoria Ysabel Mae Villongco (When first introduced at school, her classmates were shocked that she had such a long name, probably the longest they had heard since Jean Claude Van Damm), she was 16 years old (another point that separated her from her Japanese classmates, as she attended school early and didn't go through junior high), and she had transferred to Seirin in the middle of the first semester from the Philippines, which apparently coincided with her summer vacation in Manila. This made her prone to long, trilingual soliloquies about what she would be doing if she were back home, or that it was summer in her country, so she shouldn't have to go to school… In three terms, though, she had established herself as a remarkable writer, both in English as well as Japanese, and was known throughout Seirin High as the iron-fisted editor-in-chief of Seirin's anti-admin underground paper, entitled, _Adarna_. (Naturally.)

Ysa-chan (as most of her batchmates took to calling her; most _kohai_ simply addressed her as 'Ysa-sama') strode over to the whiteboard and picked up the marker. Under SULONG she wrote _Students Unified in Leadership Against the Oppression of the New School Government_.

"That's so frigging long!"

"I've got a suggestion, Ryu! Why don't we call it Operation Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious instead? I think that's shorter, and easier to memorize!"

Anko sighed, rubbing her temples. _We haven't even started the briefing and already they're complaining… about the name! Kami-sama help us!_

"You're all just pissed because you can't pronounce it properly," Ysa muttered under her breath.

"What was that, Ysa-chan?" Ryu inquired sweetly from her side.

Ysa glared at him and would have liked to spit in his face, but she lacked the knack for spitting dramatically into someone's face, like they did on those TV soaps back at home. Things like that needed practice.

Since her arrival at Seirin, he'd openly mocked her for being different than the rest of them. For not being tall, for not having the same skin tone. _Well, _Ysa thought, _He may be painfully gorgeous, but all that beauty doesn't go to my head._ _A slap should knock all the pretty boy out of him_, she thought. She raised her hand for it (the audience held its collective breath and reminisced about _Hana Yori Dango_ and wondered if there would be a side-story just like it), swung it back a good 90 degrees, and slammed it full-force against the side of Ryu's pretty face.

"You're gonna die!" Someone yelled from the audience. He was immediately shushed.

The blow was so strong that it knocked Ryu back a bit. Needless to say, Urumi didn't catch him, as he had hoped. She stood on her side of the stage, smirking as if to say, _Well done. _Stunned, Ryu touched his cheek, stood at his full height (185 cm), and glared at her. It was the Heero Yuy Death Glare (TM) and Maika's Magnum Bitch (from chapter 7) combined, pretty _and _powerful.

Before he left the stage, he said icily, "Wait for your red card tomorrow."

"Ysa-chan?"

Ysa blinked. She was still onstage, two spotlights shining down on her. With both Urumi and Ryu. His cheek wasn't red at all. Same condescending demeanor, but he didn't look like he was going to slap her (that's bad...) with a lawsuit and have her deported. She put down the marker she was holding and raised her hand until it was level to her shoulder.

The audience gripped their knees and leaned forward.

The small girl blushed adorably and scratched her head. "You were saying something, Takahashi?"

Ah, yes. Ysa had a tendency to daydream and wander off into her own little world (and forget what she was thinking of prior to spacing out). Pay attention to this; it'll play a big part later on.

Ryu Takahashi sighed. "Weren't _you _saying something, Ysa-chan?"

"No."

"Now where were we?" Ryu asked no one in particular.

"Can't we have thought up a shorter name for this operation?"

"Ah, yes. Please, Ysa-chan, answer."

"That's why we've abbreviated it," Ysa-chan said calmly. "This name is significant because in Tagalog, the dialect I speak in the Philippines, it means 'to charge.' I thought it would be an appropriate title for the operation, and I ran it by Urumi and she liked it. If you guys don't, then too bad. I also believe this is too trivial a matter to want further dissection, don't you think so?"

"Yes," Urumi said, nodding gratefully to her associate, who, as she returned to her seat, passed by Urumi and whispered, "Thanks. I feel so honored, like an honor student." The coup general looked a little taken aback at the choice of words as she watched Ysa go back to her seat, but regained her composure with amazing speed. "Now we will be discussing the rules of Operation SULONG, as it is officially known. I assure you, there are only five golden rules, and if you all follow them, our little prank will flow smoothly. Ryu, if you please."

After several minutes of scribbling on the whiteboard, Ryu stepped away from it and eyed his work proudly. The assembly, however, eyed the whiteboard with confusion.

"I can't read a thing!"

"What's that say?"

And one distinguishably Filipino comment, "_Sulat doktor!_"(1) (You write like a doctor!)

"Hold me back, Urumi," Ryu said through gritted teeth. "I feel like bashing some heads in with Monobloc chairs."

Urumi's initial reaction was to roll her eyes. He was only looking for an excuse for her to touch him. Ryu, although he was a leader, had a short temper, one of his (many, many) flaws. Especially when it came to batch meetings and the like. Urumi recalled a time, a batch meeting during their sophomore year, when a student had _dared_ question his authority, and Ryu had nearly tossed the poor guy out the window if it weren't for the other members of the student council. It didn't help much that the guy was Mayu Wakai and that he got a big kick out of challenging Ryu's intelligence and capabilities. Looking back, Urumi made it a point to call his house later and ask around for him.

"If you can't handle it, I can take over," she said smugly, reaching for the whiteboard eraser and running it over the chicken-scratch handwriting. Ryu liked Urumi too much to disagree; she was probably the only person he ever let puncture his ego. And even then, just a little. He stalked over to one side of the whiteboard, scowling at the attendees, making sure that none of them thought of him differently just because he had poor penmanship. In a matter of minutes, Urumi's neat, feminine handwriting flooded the blackboard. Clapping her hands with satisfaction, she once again faced her audience with the poker face she was famous for.

"Okay, #1," Ryu said, regaining his second wind and hogging the spotlight again just as Urumi opened her mouth. "Obey your superiors. No one questions my authority, nor Urumi's. Any chucklehead who steps one toe out of line and I'll bust a cap in his ass. Or her ass, if need be."

"I highly doubt that we'll be wanting to encourage a new generation of wife beating," Urumi commented. "No corporal punishment. It's a simple series of pranks, not a frat initiation."

"Fine, fine, whatever Urumi said. Rule #2… Oh shit." His cellphone went off (ringtone: Chemistry's You Go Your Way, which was surprising, considering his war-freakish attitude), and he ran backstage to answer it.

"Okay, people, the first rule is, no talking to _any_ member of the administration. Rika will be passing the attendance sheet, which you are all required to sign. We're doing this so that in case there's an information breach, the rat will be easier to hunt down. If anyone's even contemplating the thought of snitching, now's the time to get out of my sight, the door's still open."

Crickets. Her batchmates blinked back at her, well, all except Kikuchi, who Urumi swore was grinning. That, or he was amusedly formulating some trivial thought.

"Glad to know my platoon aren't all platyhelminths."

Crickets. This, ladies and gentlemen, was an example of Urumi Kanzaki cracking a joke. Let it not be said that Urumi was a humorless bitch. Bitch, yes, humorless, no.

_Was that actually… a joke?_ Kikuchi asked himself, half in disbelief, half in amusement.

"Platyhelminths. Invertebrates? Organisms without spines?" She feebly attempted to explain, but realized that only Kikuchi and the Gundam Otaku would probably understand anyway. And, given the Gundam Otaku's… _unusual_ (to put it kindly) sense of humor, they'd probably the types to collapse on the floor, having asthma attacks from laughing too much.

Rika attempted a laugh, but it was too obviously forced. "Ha… haha…" Seeing the look on Urumi's face, she stopped and made an expression that clearly said, "Yikes."

"Yes, Kumiko?"

Everyone turned around to look at the girl who had raised her hand. The girl was sporting a red and black Pucca nightie, her long brown hair braided at the back like it had been since she was in junior high. When she noticed that everyone had turned his or her attention to her, she smiled. And people got scared and inched away from her. Like they always did when she was in junior high.

"I was wondering… Onizuka-sensei… can we talk to him? I mean, I know he's a teacher, but he's… you know, better than the rest of them."

"Of course. He's in charge of our… headquarters."

And that certain headquarters, was, you betcha by golly wow, Eikichi Onizuka's bachelor pad. He'd known what they were planning, but had not been notified that his penthouse suite was going to be invaded by thirty seniors, with every intention of setting camp in his room, until Urumi informed him several hours ago. He was a little reluctant at first, but after she told him that he could join in the pranks, he gladly gave his permission for them to use the 'facilities.' "Anything for a good cause," he had said.

"The second rule," Urumi continued, is that all members of this operation will all cooperate with one another, whether you like each other or not. Now's the perfect time to bury the hatchet, have you any past conflicts with each other, or if you just, plain and simple, don't like each other's guts. If you feel the burning desire to strangle someone, just go out of the room and count to ten. Then stay there until the urge has dissipated. Or if you're more straightforward, tell the person to get out of your face before you punch his in. Let's make it clear that if any of you bodily harms anyone, then I swear to Kami-sama that I will _personally_ see to it that when I'm through with you, the only thing you'll be able to eat is miso soup. _Through a tube._"

If this was Urumi's idea of 'humor,' no one knew. So the audience didn't know whether it was acceptable to laugh in her presence. They deemed it wise to just shut up for the time being, lest she go all O-Ren Ishii on them and… lop off someone's head with a samurai sword. Yep.

"Okay, if no one has any questions for the second rule, then let's start the first prank, shall we? I hope you brought all your assigned materials, the gelatin powder, the ten fish…"

"Anou, Kanzaki-san, you said that there were five rules," Yoshikawa said from the front row.

Urumi ran the eraser over the whiteboard and smiled sweetly at Yoshikawa. "Oh? Well, Yoshikawa-kun, I've other things to take care of, more important that rules. Those two are the only ones you need to remember anyway."

Urumi had already briefed the Onikumi on what was happening and what was going to happen, since delegating assignments and getting things done would be a whole lot easier if your staff was aware of the situation at hand, and could in turn instruct other people to get stuff done. All of these equaled productivity, which was the end result Urumi wanted. So the lineup (which the Gundam Trio quickly posted on their collective _For Seniors Only_ blog, minus the witty descriptions and with more cute emoticons) looked something like this:

**Major Staffers**:

**Urumi/Ryu—Overseers**

_Job Description_: They, uh, pretty much oversaw the progress of their compatriots. All sectors reported to them every hour, on the hour. They dealt with everything from papercuts to sudden power shortages to breaks from the 'workers' to go sneak out and seize the opportunity to smoke (illegally)(2) or make out in the dark.

**Kikuchi/Yoshikawa—Intelligence**

_Job Description_: In charge of collecting rumors, keeping an eye on surveillance cameras, watching out for nosy admin members and rebellious students, and of course, informing the generals (Ryu and Urumi) of sightings, reports, and events, by the hour. They were a smart choice for Intelligence officers, because of Kikuchi's smarts and Yoshikawa's knack for blending into a crowd (he just looked too normal).

**Murai/Kusano—Defense**

_Job Description_: They were to cover up any mistakes made by the conspirators. And to take the fall, if (absolutely) necessary. Urumi hadn't mentioned this in their agreement.

**Ysa/Tomoko—Communication and Refreshment**

_Job Description_: They reported solely to Kikuchi and Yoshikawa, carrying orders and responses back and forth. It would have been more practical to invest in walkie talkies, but the mall they checked out only had 10 of them, which was just perfect for the 10 central characters. (But they didn't have the money to buy them, and certainly didn't want to use their money to buy walkie-talkies for other people… besides, what else were cellphones good for?) And since they were the most motherly of all the commanding officers, they were also in charge of refreshment, or, simply put, feeding everyone else and making gallons upon gallons of iced tea in large vats meant for mixing soup.

_Note_: _This was supposed to be Fujiyoshi's post. But as he was incapacitated for the meantime, Ysa was temporarily assuming his position as well._

**Anko/Miyabi—Labor**

_Job Description_: Slave drivers. AKA Cheerleaders in S&M outfits. Or S&M enthusiasts in cheerleader outfits. Whatever's more fun for you.

**Minor Staffers**:

**Ysa/Gunji Mishima/Haruo Tokida/Mokubo Shirai—Information**

_Job Description_: Ysa, with her underground paper _Adarna_, would write little messages and reminders on the insides of the paper (which had quite the fanbase). They were seemingly indecipherable to the common outsider/unfamiliar teacher, since it was written especially by the Gundam Trio in a special code (some new programming code Ysa had never heard of, but both Kikuchi and Kanzaki had something to say about it. They eventually argued over it while Ysa sweatdropped in the corner quietly). Solution: the seniors would go the Gundam Trio's collective _For Seniors Only_ blog (the address was h t t p / w w w. g u n d a m g u n d a m g u n d a m. c o. j. p) and type in the password Kanzaki had somehow issued all the seniors in the time that it took Kikuchi to prepare for the initiation and briefing. (The password was 5458244) They would be able to access a part of the blog where a code key was posted. All the seniors had to do was to decipher the code and follow instructions.

**Ruruka Hikita/Madoka Shimatani/Miko Saotome—First Aid**

_Job Description_: They were on hand to attend to massive nosebleeds caused by their skimpy nurse uniforms, to suck batchmates' papercuts caused by tearing open packets of gelatin powder with their hands, and to cure people who'd fainted from exhaustion by chanting around their bodies. After a while, no one dared faint anymore, even if it meant getting to unconsciously feel up Ruruka.

--End of Investigative Report--

As soon as the volunteers had signed away their freedom and good names (in some cases, slightly tarnished names) and finished the post-briefing preparations, the SULONG Collective marched over to the school's gym, where the swimming pool was located. A trickle of smoke snaked up from the dark corner of the gym and several of the faint-hearted girls screamed.

"ERO-JIJI!" (3)

_Where did Ryu end up? Does he have a girlfriend we don't know about, but who will make a dramatic appearance later on in the story and challenge Urumi to a series of Jell-O wrestling matches for Ryu's love? What is the significance of the number 5458244? What is the first prank? Where is Onizuka? What happened to the prom? Are the questions irritating? Will you figure out the answers to all the questions before I post the next chapter? All this and more in the next installment of_ **Moonlight Sonata!**

(1) Cultural note for non-Filipino readers: When Ysa says that Ryu writes like a doctor, it's because doctors (in the Philippines, anyway) are notorious for having bad, illegible penmanship. Yes, that is an insult.

(2) The legal smoking age in Japan is 20.

(3) Ero-joji- slang for a dirty old man.

A/N: Whew. Two year hiatus huh? Sorry about that. And apologies to all if you found the last chapter to be too angsty. I hope this one makes up for it. Oh, and when I type in the particulars for the website of the Gundam Trio, they don't show up when published. Hence the spacing. So, replies to comments, as usual:

_Czee, Ms. Culkin, yEoc, A Noble Romancer, eichi, Clyde Baron, Bubbzy, m4rk _: Thanks for reviewing! I hope you guys keep on reading.

_Allence of the Weed_: Thanks for being a longtime supporter of my work! You were with me from the start, and I hope, 'til I finally finish Moonlight Sonata (and God knows when that'll be) and long after that, you'll still stick around.

_Millie-chan_: (1) Oh, finally, something that's not a one-two-liner. AI? Sorry, dear, that's not Ai. Ai isn't even in the picture… _yet_. I still have to decide what to do with her when. Yep, Ai's not my favorite character, either. And thank you for finding _something_ positive in my work. Of course, there's _simply_ no alternative to a Kikuchi/Kanzaki pairing. And indeed, writers _should_ be careful when it comes to writing K/K romances. sweatdrop Thanks for the con-crit, and I hope my future endeavors live up to your expectations. (2) Mm. Good point. Will keep that in mind next time. And what's wrong with angst? Angsty bishies are _always_ good for you. They make you want to pity them and cuddle them and take away all their angst. Cheers.

_jmj102_: Of course it is. I lurved that movie to bits. Better than that Hilary Duff crap, I say. Thanks for reading!

_Miriae_: Um, you did? Well, good luck with that. If you _are_ still trying to learn how to play Moonlight Sonata on the piano, that is. It really _is_ such a pretty piece. Well, I studied at a Chinese school for 8 years, so I picked up some Fookien and Mandarin here and there. I know how to say you that you're _bastos_, and ask where the bathroom is. At that writing, William Hung was still popular.

_Verseau_: Eww, I know. OCs in GTO, it's like, WTF? The original storyline didn't call for OCs, but somebody had to start a trend. Yep, Maika and Yuki are OC. I don't know what other more important roles they'll have in future plots, or whether they were just an hour's writing fancy, but… we'll all see. Actually, Miyabi and Koji-kun actually sort of got together in the manga. I know, the anime deprived us of a lot. Who _isn't_ a Gackt fan? That sexy body, voice that could melt chocolate in Antarctica… stopping now.

_DarkFusion_: It did, actually. Thanks for the William Hung thumbs-up. Expect more insanity in the future.

_sara_: Good to know that you're… patriotic. Yes, it _is_ nice to find other Pinoy writers on I thought of petitioning the admin to have Tagalog in their languages, but later I thought it was silly since we Pinoy writers write in English anyway. With slight Tagalog tendencies.

_Kairi21_: Needless to say, I didn't get into UP, but I certainly hope you did! Yes, it was incredibly hard. The term mindfuck comes to mind. Oh well, I have the white and blue to look forward to, so no use crying over spilt milk. Me? A good proofreader? Haha, maybe to you, but since my dad's an editor, no one's better than him at spotting errors. I'm pretty sure he could spot at least five mistakes on one page of my story, off the bat. Wow! A pronunciation tape. Gotta get me one of those. OR I could look for a Japanese class.

_heavenly-maiden_: Maybe I'll throw in O/F moments, but not too much, as this fic _is_ K/K-centric. As for the number of chapters, I'm not so sure. It could be 20, or it _could_ end right now if I don't feel like updating anymore. Inspiration is a filthy bitch.

_BluErReD, cathrun_: Yup.

_Jologs Inc._: Of course I don't mind.

_Elle30_: Darling (sorry, I just watched _Breakfast at Tiffany's_), when I get writer's block, **I get writer's block**. It's just there for months and months (or in this case, _years_ and **years** until inspiration decides to honor me with its presence. Yeah, it's too bad that GTO is kind of neglected nowadays. Allence and I (and other people who're still sticking with this fandom) will change that (hopefully) with our current projects.

_aphro, togetogeshii hihyou, Lyz#03, AnkoUehara_: Forced writing do not good stories make. Well, **NOW** it's updated. XDD

_Supahsushi_: Say hello to our medicated friend.

**Stay tuned for the next episode!**


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